"Ow, ow, ow, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" Kaoru screamed in pain and thwarted rage as she dropped the heavy mirror she had been attempting to use as a club and stared murderously at the large window that patently refused to shatter. It had been a trying morning, to say the least. A tense exploration had revealed that the large bedroom contained two doors: one which was locked and another which lead to a well-furbished sitting room and a luxurious bathroom. The sitting room also contained a locked door, and Kaoru was quick to realize that she was, from all outward appearances, a prisoner. However, the sitting room contained a rather convenient large bay window and a glance had told her that she was just two stories up, too high to jump but low enough to make escape via the ever-so-clichéd rope made of knotted bedsheets possible. The rope was now tied firmly to the leg of the heavy wooden table and Kaoru was hoping fervently that everything she had learned about tying knots was accurate, that the satin bedsheets wouldn't slip free of their knots and send her plummeting to the ground, and that she had enough rope to get her within safe jumping distance of the grass below. She was fairly certain about the last one but less so on the first two, but at this point all she wanted was to get out of this place and run away very, very fast.
However, her hastily plotted escape plan had been cobbled together on the assumption that the bay window would be fairly easy to breech. Kaoru had snatched the mirror off the bedroom wall to shatter her way to freedom, both in hopes that the mirror would break along with the window which would theoretically keep the two men from checking up on her and out of a desire to vicariously maul the crap out of the person who seemed to be responsible for the whole disastrous scenario. The mirror was large and heavy, and Kaoru was deeply looking forward to watching it sail through the window and smash to a thousand pieces below.
Both the mirror and the window, however, did not share her goals and Kaoru was completely astonished when both objects held firm. Since she swung at the window with all her strength and both mirror and window had refused to break, the results were like hitting a cement wall. Recoil bounded up her arms, rattling her teeth in their roots and making her fingers sting viciously. Kaoru dropped the mirror on the ground and indulged in a string of explicatives she kept tucked away for particularly difficult situations. Angrily, she kicked the mirror, then doubled over with a scream as excruciating pain shot up her leg. Bellowing blindly, Kaoru grabbed a strange-looking statuette from the table and went at the mirror with relish.
A few minutes later, fatigue kicked in and Kaoru was staring angrily at a perfectly whole, flawless mirror that had resisted all her efforts to pulverized it. Even the statuette in her hand showed no signs of damage. "FINE!" Kaoru screamed, "You win, okay?" Still fuming, she picked the mirror up and carted it off into the bedroom to hide it in the closet. Having done that and slammed the door shut, she flopped down on the floor, not sure if she wanted to explode into another fit of rage or simply dissolve into tears. She settled for a mixture of both and was pounding the floor with a balled-up fist while hot tears leaked down her cheek when the unmistakable scent of coffee layered over with bacon and a slight hint of maple syrup drifted across her nose. Pulling herself to her feet and wiping her face angrily, Kaoru went back into the sitting room and found to her astonishment that a full breakfast was waiting for her: bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes dripping with butter, orange juice, coffee, all served on elegant bone china and accompanied by fine silverware. Polished silver serving dishes held creamer, coffee, sugar, and syrup, and colorful jams sparkled in jewel-cut glass jars.
Kaoru stared suspiciously at the breakfast on the table. She had only been out of the room a minute or two and had left the door between the bedroom and sitting room open. It was ridiculous to believe that someone could have gotten into the room, set up everything, and left without her knowing or hearing anything. Remembering the man in the mirror and the window that refused to shatter, Kaoru narrowed her eyes. Magic. It has to be magic. The logical side of her brain snorted, Magic? There's no such thing as magic. So the owner of the house installed safety glass in the sitting room and obviously likes really, really sturdy mirrors, big deal. And he has servants that are quite sneaky and very good at what they do. The suspicious side of her brain shot back, Then what about the man in the mirror? How do you explain that?
This mental debate went on for a few minutes before Kaoru realized that the bacon was getting cold and that she was very hungry. She was also highly suspicious of the food, wondering if it was spiked or bewitched but a few tentative nibbles melted her resolve and soon there was little left in the serving dishes. She didn't eat this well at home; as a struggling college student with no family to support her and a scholarship that only paid a portion of her hefty college bills, Kaoru's diet mainly revolved around the Four College Student Food groups: ramen noodle, peanut butter, canned ravioli, and free food scrounged from various social events around campus. In contrast, the breakfast she had just consumed was one of the best meals she had eaten in a long, long time.
A full stomach somewhat mollified her and a dose of caffeine fortified her resolve to think logically. There had to be some way out of this place, and, washing her hands in the fancy bathroom, Kaoru was determined to find just that.
However, an hour or so of prowling, poking, plotting, and prodding had turned up nothing. The door locks were unpickable, there were no handy Kaoru-sized ventilation ducts to shimmy through to freedom, no hidden passageways, no telephone wires to hack. Houdini might have possibly found a way out, but Kaoru was stumped. She finally had to admit defeat and was trying to rein in her growing sense of fear and frustration as time passed. The red-haired man who had shared her bed (and Kaoru was desperately hoping that nothing more had been shared than sleeping space) would likely be back soon and, recalling his glowing amber eyes, Kaoru shivered at the thought of facing him again. That recall jogged her memory, and she went back into the bedroom to pluck the katana free from its wall mounts.
The feel of braided cord and tsuba against her palm was immensely comforting, and Kaoru busied herself by looking over her newly-acquired weapon. No wall-hanger was this, a cheap gimmick purchased at an Asian trinket store, but a true cutting blade. She examined its hamon closely, testing the weight and balance, and smiled to herself. Let Ginger come on back now and give me that look again, she thought grimly. Or the black-haired dude. I'd gladly take him on, the bastard.
Chortling, Kaoru visualized both of them in front of her and began making some practice swings across the floor. The room had lofty walls, leaving her plenty of room to swing a sword. Not that she had any qualms about gouging holes through the roof and leaving chunks of ceiling panel behind to express her ire, but she was too good a swordswoman to risk damage to a blade. However, this room was both wide and tall enough to serve as a tolerable dojo, and Kaoru gladly took advantage of its space.
As her feet settled into accustomed patterns, Kaoru moved across the floor, grateful for training to calm her down and give her a centerpoint. Pushing aside her fear and anxiety, she concentrated on her form. As the minutes ticked by, movement smoothed tense muscles and a light sweat trickled away both body heat and worry. Pattern by pattern, form by form, kata by kata, she worked through the curriculum of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu.
An hour or so into her practice, Kaoru was gasping, sweat-soaked, but energized at the same time. She had been so busy lately with schoolwork, a part-time job, and some teaching on the side that she hadn't given a huge amount of time to her own training. It felt good to be back into hard training. As she moved into a sparring pattern, she conjured up an image of the amber-eyed redhead, imagining him (fully clothed, of course) with a drawn sword. With glee, she attacked, slashing at him, weaving around his blade, attacking, stabbing, thrusting. He turned towards her, amber eyes gleaming, and Kaoru maniacally lunged towards him, katana arching forward.
Bang! Kaoru juddered forward, knocked off-balance as her sword came to a sudden, grinding halt, clasped firmly between two strong hands as amber eyes glowered at her through red bangs. Eeeepp! she thought frantically. The imaginary opponent had materialized into a very much real adversary, one that looked far more threatening without a sword than many men would look with one. Kaoru bit her lip and glared at him, daring him to make the next move.
The man returned the glare, then removed his hands from the sword and stepped back. As he did, Kaoru was surprised to see the amber swirl out of his eyes and be replaced with a rather odd violet. It contrasted strangely with his flaming hair. Suddenly, Kaoru remembered with crushing swiftness the sheer embarrassment of their first meeting, and red filled her cheeks. The man too, now that danger had passed, seemed to remember the event for an identical blush crept up to his cheeks too. Clearing his throat, he said awkwardly, "You must be hungry, Miss. Please follow me."
Kaoru stared at him, then reached for the saya she had placed on the bed. She had no intention of letting the sword out of her hand. Sliding the katana into its sheath, she padded after the man and was not entirely surprised to see a fine lunch laid out in the sitting room. Excusing herself, Kaoru went to the bathroom to mope up her streaming face and wash her hands. She knew she must smell like a dead horse after that workout, but Kaoru decided that reeking of sweat was probably a good tactical move on her part. Whatever it took to avoid waking up naked with a similarly unclothed strange man was fine by her.
The man was standing at a chair waiting for her and did not sit until she had done so first. Kaoru noticed for the first time that he was dressed in a white gi and pink hakama. Pink is so not his color, not with that hair, she thought spitefully. Ignoring him, she pulled a serving dish toward her. Despite her heavy breakfast, she was starving. The man cleared his throat and said hesitantly, "I am Kenshin Himura. May I have your name?"
"Kaoru Kamiya," Kaoru said shortly, intent on piling succulent roast beef on her plate.
"Kaoru-dono, I," Kenshin stopped, blushing, and Kaoru was faintly surprised to see what looked liked genuine regret spread across his face, "I most deeply apologize for...for last night. I..."
"Oh, no problem," Kaoru snarled, sarcasm dripping on every phoneme. "I regularly go home with strange men I meet in bars that slip me roofies. No worries." Kenshin's red face grew even redder and his hand clenched so tightly around his fork that it snapped under his fingers. "Just answer me this," Kaoru said, banging her fist emphatically on the table. Knowing that she was really, really going to hate the answer, she said in a rushed jumble of words, "Did we actually...um..." Courage failed her, and the last couple words died on her tongue as she saw Kenshin's face twist in embarrassment.
Heavy silence lay on the table for several eternal seconds. Finally, Kenshin took in a deep breath and said softly, "Apparently yes."
Suddenly the tender roast beef didn't look so good anymore. Kaoru shoved her plate away and face-palmed her head forward. "Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," she muttered, "I'm not on any birth control." And if I was drunk or drugged enough to have sex with a random stranger, you can bet in hell we didn't use a condom, she thought desperately.
Kenshin was fiddling with the broken pieces of his fork, ignoring the rapidly cooling food between them as he tried to digest the turn of events life had placed in both of their ways. He felt guilt and shame rise up in his belly and wished deeply he could be a thousand miles away. Suddenly Kaoru's head snapped upwards, and tear-filled eyes glared at him. "Wait," Kenshin said, holding up a hand before she decided to go at him with the steak knife by her plate. "Let me start from the beginning."
Snapping his fingers, Kenshin summered his element. A salamander burst into the room, skipped lightly across the carpet, and hopped up onto the table. Kaoru scooted back rapidly, knocking her chair to the ground, "The hell is that?" she yelled.
"A salamander," Kenshin replied. "My elemental spirit. Incidentally the same one that brought you breakfast this morning." The salamander shimmered towards Kaoru, flicking its tail in happiness. Kenshin smiled to himself; Kaoru, provoked by anger, was emanating her element, so much so that he was surprised massive gusts of wind were not racing around the room. Master was right, he thought to himself. Her magical talent was unknown to her and untrained but it was practically bursting out of her skin. Air feeds fire, one of the first lessons Hiko had taught him. The salamander couldn't resist Kaoru in her highly-peeved state, not with all the air energy she was producing. The Soul Bond had done its work: had woken Kaoru's dormant magical abilities and woven her chi pattern together with Kenshin's. It was a weak weave but it would strengthen with time. For now, it was firm enough that any of Kenshin's salamanders would adore her and heed her commands.
To her credit, Kaoru didn't scream, shriek, or run away as the salamander happily twirled around her body, lapping up the air energy her anger was creating in such abundant qualities. She merely watched in deep suspicion and incredulous astonishment as the fiery creature blazed hotter and larger before galloping excitedly around the room in a burst of merriment, then zoomed out of the room.
When it was gone, Kaoru turned to Kenshin and said in controlled tones, "Care to explain what that was?"
Kenshin sighed, "The simple explanation is this: I am a Fire Master. I wield the element of Fire."
"Fire Master," Kaoru digested the words. "I am assuming that has something to do with magic."
"Precisely," Kenshin replied. Snapping his fingers, he summoned the salamander back. The food had gone cold on their plates, but when the salamander danced across the table, heat returned to the roast beef, mashed potatoes, and peas. Kaoru stared at the food suspiciously, but her stomach gave a growl and she reluctantly lifted a forkful of beef to her mouth. As a college student, she was disinclined to turn down a free hot meal, no matter what company she had to eat it in.
As she ate, Kaoru absorbed what Kenshin had said. Logic said that magic was impossible. But Kaoru had seen the man in the mirror, a window that would not break, and a ball of lizard-shaped fire dancing around her. Whether she wanted to believe it or not, magic seemed to be the only probably explanation. Occam's razor, she thought to herself grimly, It's possible that I am merely having a very bad roofie-induced nightmare. But it's more likely that everything Kenshin says is true and I just have to go on the best I can. Oh dear God, what have I gotten myself into?
Finally, Kaoru voiced the question that had been foremost on her mind since she woke up. "Why am I here?" she said pointedly.
Kenshin fiddled with his knife, not looking at her. "Kaoru-dono, I," he sighed, somehow knowing that telling her the truth straight up was better than trying to break it to her gently. "Many years ago, I left my Master before my training in both Fire Magic and Sword Magic were completed. There are...many fractions among magic users, and the wars among them cause many tragedies for humanity so I.."
"How so?" Kaoru interrupted.
"Well, tsunamis, droughts, and hurricanes are the work of Water Masters," Kenshin pointed out practically. "Earth Masters call up earthquakes and cause land to become sterile. Wind Masters bring tornadoes. And Fire Masters are responsible for devastating fires and lightening storms. In fact, most of the natural disasters humans encounter are the result of evil or warring Elemental Masters. And it is not merely Masters who wield this power. Even those with small command of Elemental Magic can deeply affect humans. And they do so, often."
Kenshin paused for a moment, then continued in a low voice, staring into the silver juice pitcher as if lost in distant memories. Softly, he continued, "I was young and foolish many years ago, Kaoru-dono, and I wished to put an end to the suffering of the world. Despite my master's commands, I believed that with my Element and my sword, I could set the world aright again. So I left my master and joined in the war of the Elements." Sorrow flooded his face and he looked so deeply troubled that Kaoru was touched with a strange pity for him. "To that end, I failed utterly."
"What did you do?" Kaoru asked, rather hesitantly. It was another question to which she knew she would not like the answer. She was right, Kenshin's hand gripped his knife, knuckles whitening.
"I killed. Many magic-wielders." Kenshin said tightly. "Masters, apprentices, mages, whoever I was directed to kill by my superiors. I did so believing that my bloody sword would create peace. It did not." His eyes lifted to her and she was alarmed to see that amber had returned to their depths. "Do you recall, Kaoru-dono, the Japanese tsunami ten years ago?"
Kaoru nodded, remembering the horror of reading about the tragic event. The tsunami had sprung up without warning and swamped the mainland, sending 20 foot waves crashing onto the shore. Over a hundred thousand people had died, and many more had been injured. No official explanation had ever been made for the event; it had simply been deemed a freak natural disaster.
Kenshin was practically shattering the steak knife under his fingers, "I was commanded to slay a Earth Master, and I did so. I was not aware that he was warring for control with a Water Master and in his absence, the Water Master had the power to send the tsunami as a way of showing his strength and venting his spite. Over a hundred thousand souls were lost, all because of my actions."
Kaoru sucked in a breath and counted to ten. Slowly and very carefully, she replied, "I am very sorry for you. But I am still not sure why I am here."
Kenshin nodded, "Of course, forgive me. After...after the tsunami, I realized the full magnitude of what I had done and forsook my killing ways. I have been a wandered for the past ten years, seeking...seeking a way to somewhat atone for the lives I have taken. Not long ago, I returned to my Master to complete what I had left unfinished for so many years."
"May I ask why?" Kaoru said.
Kenshin looked at her sadly, "I accumulated many enemies over my years as a slayer, Kaoru-dono and unfortunately my skills as a fighter still have their uses. The way of Hiten Mitsurugi is the ability to destroy a Master's power. Doing so kills him, destroying both your adversary and his magical ability. But I..." he paused for a moment, "I believe that there is a way to remove a Master's power without taking his life. I have come to my Master to complete my training and to see if I can learn how to overcome my enemy without killing him. There is still evil in this world, and stopping it will be my atonement for all the lives that I have ended. However..." he bit his lip, "I have begun to reach the limits of my skills. Only a Soul Bond will give me the strength I need to overcome all enemies that I must face."
"A Soul Bond?" Kaoru questioned.
Some red returned to Kenshin's face and he shuffled his feet. "A Soul Bond, well, it happens when two strong Magic users of complementary Elements, um, well, unite themselves together." He cleared his throat as Kaoru flushed. "This mingles their powers together and grants them strength that they cannot reach on their own."
"But, but, I don't have any magical powers," Kaoru protested.
"You are not aware of it, but you do, the talent is there and it is quite strong, I may add," Kenshin snapped his fingers again and five salamanders sailed into the room. "Watch," he commanded. The salamanders flew towards Kaoru with unbridled joy. As they danced and swirled around her, their heat and size increased dramatically and their frantic circles became more frenzied.
"You will be an Air Master, of that I have no doubt," Kenshin said. "Air feeds fire. My salamanders already love you. In fact," he looked at Kaoru quizzically, "I am surprised another Elemental Master has not sensed your presence before." He frowned thoughtfully, "You have a strong spirit and powerful chi to cloak such magical talent for so long. Generally magic wielders begin breaking out in childhood. May I ask how old you are?"
"Twenty," Kaoru sniffed.
"Most peculiar," Kenshin replied.
Kaoru was silent for a minute, then set her fork down. "So stripped of all its verbiage, what you said in a nutshell is that I have strong magic abilities that you need, so you somehow got me unconscious, dragged me back her, date-raped me, and now expect me to help you on some hero's quest to rid the world of evil and all that daring-do jazz?"
Kenshin opened his mouth, shut it, then gave it another go, "Kaoru-dono, I...em, let me be very clear that I have absolutely no memory of what happened last night. While I take full responsibility for anything that happened, I honestly cannot recall anything beyond being at the bar and seeing you across the room. The, em, rest of the night, was...well, shall we say orchestrated by outside forces."
"The black-haired bastard in the mirror?" Kaoru growled.
Kenshin was torn between loyalty and honestly so he remained silent, but his tormented face was enough to give Kaoru the answer she needed. "The pervert," she rumbled, rising up from her chair. "Where is he? I am so gonna pound him dead."
"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said firmly, and the verbratto of his voice was enough to sink her reluctantly back into her seat. "I too am much distressed by what happened and given my way, last night would have never happened, not like it did. It was not honorable. However, well, the long and short of it is that last night did happen and we must move forward with that knowledge."
"Meaning?" Kaoru said warningly.
"Meaning that you are here now," Kenshin replied simply. "The Soul Bond has been made, your Elemental talent has been awoken, and you have quite a bit of training ahead of you."
"And what if I have absolutely no intention of being trained at all?" Kaoru snarled. "Fact is, I don't. I want to go home now."
Kenshin sighed, "I'm afraid that is not possible."
Kaoru gritted her teeth, "Why not?"
"Because your magic has been awoken, you are now in danger to both yourself and the people around you," Kenshin stated. "In fact, that is generally how Masters find new apprentices, somewhere a child is setting fires or calling up windstorms and people are talking. A newly-woken Elemental user is extremely unstable. The natural disasters I told you about, well some have been caused by Sensitives wielding Elemental power by accident and without knowing how to control or stop their actions."
"Besides," Kenshin responded. "Your natural talent for Elemental magic is particularly potent, and it would not be long before another Master, either good or evil, would take notice. Letting you go would be putting you in grave danger."
Kaoru sniffed, "You know, the old I'm-imprisoning-you-for-your-own-good-you-helpless-idiot line might have worked with Bella Swan, but you're not a sparkly vampire and I'm not a swoony nitwit. If you must keep me captive, don't insult me by trying to pretend that you are doing it for my benefit. Be honest, this is all about you. You need me. Fair enough. Just know, I don't intend to play the damsel in distress-style prisoner."
Kenshin smiled thinly, "I can live with that."
"Fine," Kaoru snapped. Neither of them had eaten much and they were both glaring at each other over the highly-polished table. Kenshin looked at her and realized that there was one way to calm her down. "Come," he said, "Take the katana." He rose to his feet, and Kaoru reluctantly followed.
The door unlocked with a wave of Kenshin's hand, and Kaoru padded out into the elegantly-appointed hallway. Whoever Kenshin's master was, Kaoru had to grudgingly admit that he had style. A few minutes of walking led them to a room that made Kaoru stop in amazement. Now THIS is a dojo, she thought in slack-jawed amazement. If she had a hundred thousand dollars to her name, the first thing she would do is build an exact replica of the room in front of her.
Kenshin moved to the sword rack and took up a katana, holding it at the precise angle and bowing ritually before sliding it in his belt. Turning to face her, he bowed again. Kaoru smiled wickedly. She may not have a clue about this magic the redhead had been rambling on about but there was one thing she did know: what to do when an opponent was facing her with a sword. Despite her morning workout, she still had a huge amount of energy and aggression stored up. Ginger, you're a dead man!