The Faerie Chronicles of Kenshin & Kaoru: The Sleeping Prince, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl
Chapter 4 - In which Kenshin fights the Oniwabanshû.
"Or why comes thou to Carterhaugh
Without my command?"
Tam Lin
o.o.o
They sat there for a while, though Kaoru had no idea what 'there' looked like, because she was too busy hiding her face against Kenshin's chest. She felt horribly embarrassed and couldn't bring herself to face him, and yet she was so glad that he was still here in her arms.
He sighed, and his breath ruffled her hair.
"Kenshin..." She swallowed. "Are you...mad at me? For coming after you?"
His arms had been resting slack against her, but now they tightened in a hug. "Half," he murmured, and, because her cheek was pressed against him, she could feel his voice echoing through his chest.
Kaoru blinked. "Half?" She raised her head to look at him at last, and was so relieved to see him smiling a little.
"The other half is...kind of relieved."
She smiled back, relief washing over her as well. "I thought that you'd...disappear," she admitted. "If I let you go."
He did not answer for so long that Kaoru frowned. "Kenshin?"
He smiled again and got to his feet, reaching down a hand to help her up. Kaoru took it, but then completely forgot to move. She was staring around her at Faerie, at the bright meadow they found themselves in, and she was sitting among flowers that were so huge and beautiful, there was no mistaking them for anything found in the human realm. Kaoru took her hand back out of Kenshin's so that she could cup it around one of the exquisite blooms, leaning her face forward to take in every perfect detail of its petals.
Kenshin watched the look of wonder on her face, and her name sang like a song over and over in his head. 'Kaoru-dono, Kaoru-dono, this loves you so much...'
"This is..." Kaoru breathed, and forgot to finish her sentence. She stood up at last, turning around and around to look at the spiraled trees, the huge bright birds, the sky- "It's green!" she burst out. And indeed, the sky was a pretty pastel shade of green, with a bluish sun shining merrily through.
Kenshin grinned. "It does that, sometimes. Just hope that the Queen or the King don't get angry, because at such times the sky will turn brown or black and make things quite difficult to see."
Kaoru shook her head. "Amazing. I never thought...I would be here again."
"How do you like it?"
Kaoru looked straight at him and smiled. "I love being wherever you are, Kenshin."
He stared at her with such a stricken look that her feelings were hurt.
"Sorry," she huffed. "Guess that was a stupid thing to say."
He took her hands in both his own, looking strangely conflicted. "Kaoru-dono...those words of yours warm my heart. For this one, being with you has always felt like home, and to hear that you feel the same..."
"Well, then look more happy about it!" she burst out. "You act like I insulted you."
He laughed. "That you did not, Kaoru-dono." He kissed her again, a light, leisurely kiss that sent little sunbeams of joy shooting throughout her whole body. No one was watching this time; she was free to throw her arms around his neck and relish every taste-
"Geez, get a room already!"
They broke apart, startled, to find a three-inch fairy hovering almost right in front of their faces.
"Kyaa!" Kaoru shrieked in surprise, leaping backwards.
The fairy crossed her arms and grinned. "Jumpy little mortal, huh?" she commented to Kenshin, who sweatdropped.
"Little?" Kaoru gasped, then growled, "You're one to talk, you shrimpy bug!"
The fairy's mouth dropped open, and then she dove at Kaoru's face, feet-first. "Monster Bird Kick of Rage!"
"Ack!" Kaoru yelped, ducking away. "Kenshin, help me!"
Hiding a smile, he plucked the creature out of the air and held her in his palm. "Please calm down, little one."
"Little again!" the fairy shouted. "I'll show you 'little,' you red-headed girly-man!" There was a poof of smoke, and suddenly the fairy had turned full size, gossamer wings beating back and forth in agitation. Her glaring face looked huge in comparison, and Kaoru backed away again in alarm before she adjusted to seeing the fairy as a person rather than a little talking bug-thing.
"Who are you, anyway?" she demanded, trying to recover her composure.
"Makimachi Misao tells her name to no one!" the fairy announced proudly.
"Um," said Kenshin.
"You just did," Kaoru pointed out.
Misao's mouth dropped open. "What?! Argh! Who are you two, then?"
"This one is Himura Kenshin," he said quickly, "and this is Kaoru-dono." He gave Kaoru a warning look, and she nodded to show she understood. Names were a tricky thing around here, she would have to be careful to keep her surname at least a secret.
"Sword-heart," Misao mused, her eyes traveling to the blade Kenshin had once more tucked into his belt. Then she grinned. "Looks valuable. I think I'll take it!" Kenshin skipped out of reach just as she snatched for it, and her eyes widened as she stumbled. "Hey! Get back here!"
"You would not be interested in such a sword, Misao-dono, that you would not," he told her.
"I'll be the judge of that!" she announced, and pounced at him again. "Himura Kenshin, stay still!" she ordered, but he only smiled and whirled away again. "You cheater!" she shrieked. "You've got a secret name!"
Kaoru watched them cavorting around the meadow, Misao looking more and more frustrated while Kenshin was nearly laughing as he eluded her.
'He's different here,' Kaoru thought wistfully. 'Back home, he's so solemn...he'll play with the girls or let the rest of us tease him, but being a king weighs down on him so much. Here, it's like he's...free.'
"Got you!" Misao shouted, grabbing for the sakabatô's sheath. Kenshin grasped the hilt at the same time, and as they tussled over it, the sword suddenly jerked free and swiped in a deep arc across Misao's chest.
"Misao-chan!" Kaoru gasped, and ran to them.
Misao stood there for a moment with a shocked look on her face. Then the sword's sheath fell out of her hand, and she toppled backward into the flowers.
"Misao-chan!" Kaoru cried, throwing herself down beside the girl. "Misao-chan! Kenshin, help her!" But when she looked at him, Kenshin was merely frowning. He bent to pick up the sheath, slid his sword back into it, and replaced it at his hip.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Kaoru bellowed at him, the force of her voice nearly blowing him over. "Misao-chan is hurt!"
"Is she?" Kenshin replied, as calmly as if Kaoru had announced that the tea was getting cold.
"YES, YOU IDIOT!"
Kenshin peered down at the motionless Misao, then nudged her gently with his foot. "Misao-dono, please get up. You are upsetting this one's wife."
"Do you mind?" Misao barked up at him in annoyance. "I'm kind of dead here!" There was a pause, and then her eyes suddenly popped open and she sat up, searching herself for a non-existent wound. "I'm not dead!"
"Of course you're not," Kenshin said, as if it was obvious. "Such a thing is impossible with a mythril sword, that it is."
"Mythril!" Misao leaped up and grabbed for the sakabatô again, and this time he let her have it.
"Mythril?" Kaoru asked in puzzlement.
"A Seelie metal," Kenshin explained. "Weapons made out of that material are fatal if they merely touch Unseelie blood, but to the Seelie, they are harmless. Its effects on humans are no different than that of steel," he added.
"What the heck?" Misao was muttering, "The blade's on backwards." Then she gasped. "A mythril sakabatô..." Her eyes rose disbelievingly to Kenshin. "It can't be...you're the Seelie prince!"
"What of it?" Kenshin wondered.
Misao dropped the sword and jumped back as if it was poisonous. "You are Hitokiri Battousai!" she accused, and Kenshin responded with a grave look before he reached down to retrieve his sword.
As he bent, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. "Look out!" he shouted, and plowed into the two women without even bothering to straighten up. The three of them tumbled to the ground, their noise covering up the faint zinging sound made by a dart as it pierced the bark of a tree on the other side of the meadow.
Kenshin was instantly back on his feet, the sword ready in his hand, glaring at a small, dark creature that was now emerging from the trees.
"Hitokiri Battousai," the goblin cackled. "I'm sure the boss will be pleased if I kill you."
"Kenshin!" Kaoru gasped, at the same time Misao called out happily, "Beshimi!"
Kenshin held out a arm protectively before them. "Kaoru-dono, Misao-dono, please get back." The sakabatô flashed in his hand, and the goblin's poisoned darts pinged off it and dropped harmlessly to the ground. The Unseelie creature growled in frustration.
"Watch where you're throwing those, Beshimi!" Misao said indignantly. "You could have hit me!"
"Get out of the way, then," Beshimi told her.
Kenshin's eyes flicked between them, but he said nothing. As soon as Misao was clear, he threw himself into a charge, his inhuman speed making the transition look instantaneous. It came as something of a surprise when his sword came down, not on the little goblin, but on what seemed like a wall of hardened, heavily-scarred flesh. Kenshin leaped back at once, surveying the new enemy who had stepped in the way.
"Shikijô!" Beshimi exclaimed. "I had him, don't go stealing my glory!"
"It's Hitokiri Battousai," the troll said in a leisurely way. "It seems to me there'll be enough of him for all four of us."
Kenshin's eyes widened, then darted to either side of the meadow, where two other Unseelie creatures were coming out into the light. From the right stepped a shape-shifter, hideous in his true form, since he was not currently assuming another's appearance. From the left crawled an enormously round dragon, his scales slithering on the grass as he approached, liquid flames dripping out of his mouth.
"Misao-sama," the shape-shifter said quietly. "Are you all right?"
"Never better, Han'nya-kun," the fairy assured him, going up to give him a quick hug.
"Kenshin," Kaoru said nervously.
"Get out of the way, mortal," the shifter, Han'nya, said calmly. "It's not you we're interested in."
"This one cannot fight all four at once and still be able to defend you," Kenshin said quietly, his eyes never wavering from his enemies. Kaoru nodded and moved to where Misao was now perched on a low tree-branch.
The dragon Hyottoko struck first, but it was while Kenshin was eluding the stream of fire that Han'nya made his move. Kenshin was ready for him, whirling at once to dodge the fist he could see coming.
Wham
"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried.
He recovered from the blow quickly, regaining his footing and impatiently swiping the blood away from his mouth.
"That's my Han'nya-kun," Misao said in satisfaction. "I hope Battousai isn't your lover or anything, 'cause he won't last against the Oniwabanshû!"
"Kenshin, kick their butts!" Kaoru shouted.
Unfortunately, the reverse seemed to be happening. Kenshin seemed to be able to elude the other three easily enough, but when it came to Han'nya, every blow struck almost on the mark. Even Misao winced when Han'nya's fist came crashing down on Kenshin's head; Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief a moment later, when she saw that Kenshin had managed to dodge again.
"He's like a little squirrel," Beshimi giggled, "scrambling here and there to get away from the dogs. Let's all come at him together!"
"Wait, Beshimi," Han'nya called, but the goblin had already unleashed a shower of darts. Kenshin leaped clear, only to see Hyottoko turning on the girls.
"Move, Misao," the dragon rumbled, and opened his mouth.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru screamed. She tried to run, but her eyes seemed glued to the back of that throat, glowing as if with coals. She slipped in the grass and stumbled to one knee. The dragon expelled a fiery breath; Kaoru threw her hands up, then realized that she only heard the roaring in her ears, none of the flames had touched her. She looked up and gasped to find Kenshin standing before her, whirling his sword fast enough to create a shield against the flames.
'Now, Beshimi!' the dragon thought, 'while he's occupied!'
The goblin flung out a handful of darts, but Kenshin suddenly toppled backward, knocking Kaoru clear and letting the darts fly right over them and into the troll on his other side.
"Shikijô!" Beshimi cried, horrified.
Han'nya half-morphed into a wolf's shape, bringing huge claws down on Kenshin's head. Kenshin, having thrust out his sword straight in front of him to test a theory, now twirled away at the last second, finally able to dodge the attack. "Lengthening your arms as you charge," he muttered. "Nice move, but not good enough." This time when the attack came, Kenshin let his blade be caught in the middle of those claws and twisted sharply, breaking Han'nya's wrist and snapping off one of the claws.
"Han'nya!" the goblin was shouting frantically. "It's Shikijô!"
The shape-shifter backed away warily until he was standing near his comrades.
"He'll die if he doesn't get the antidote soon," Beshimi said urgently. "Han'nya, you're the fastest of us!"
The shifter nodded and swiftly disappeared into the trees.
"This is for Shikijô," Hyottoko snarled, and unleashed another wave of fire. Kenshin pushed Kaoru out of the way and charged at the dragon, so low to the ground that one wrong move would have sent him sprawling. He struck first with his elbow and then with the hilt of the sword in his other hand, deep blows to the dragon's belly and throat. Hyottoko reeled back, fighting for breath with such an agonized sound that Kaoru pressed her hands over her ears.
"Enough."
All eyes went to the speaker, who came slowly out into the open. Cold, pitiless eyes reflected no light; his handsome face, pointed ears, and midnight-black hair marked him as a dark elf.
"Aoshi-sama!" Misao cried happily. She flicked back into her tiny form and flitted over to his shoulder. "Han'nya-kun and the others are having a little trouble," she told him indignantly. "This guy's like a monster, Aoshi-sama!"
Aoshi, his eyes never leaving Battousai, reached up to his shoulder. Cupping the fairy in one hand, he cast her gently away from him, where she hovered, her little wings humming as she watched anxiously.
"Battousai," Aoshi murmured, and slowly drew his weapon. "Prepare yourself."
"This one would like to avoid a fight if he could," Kenshin told him.
"The name of the Oniwabanshû will not be blemished by defeat," the dark elf responded, his voice devoid of emotion. Then his eyes slid to Kaoru. "Perhaps you would like to say good-bye to your woman first."
"Kenshin's not the one who'll be saying his good-byes!" Kaoru said hotly.
Then she noticed Kenshin giving her a worried look. He sheathed his sword and came over to her, taking her into his arms. "Too many close calls already," he murmured; then, because their faces were so close, he couldn't help stealing a little kiss, but there wasn't time to indulge.
Before Kaoru even had a chance to respond, he had leaped, and she gave a little shriek of surprise as she clung to him. "Warn me next time!" she insisted, when she found the two of them perched high in the branches of a tree.
"Sorry, Kaoru-dono." He patted the wood next to him. "Rowan. It is said to be a good ward...this one is not sure how effective it will be against them, but you will be safer here than on the ground. Please stay here, Kaoru-dono."
"Beat him up for me," she said softly, and kissed him, hoping it would not be the last time.
"Are you finished?" Aoshi called up, his voice cold.
Kenshin looked down at him, matching that icy gaze with his own. Then, almost quicker than Kaoru's eye could follow, he had dived, his sword rushing for Aoshi's throat. The blow was parried, and then they were off again, zipping around the meadow so quickly that they appeared at first to be translocating.
Kaoru found the fairy perched on her shoulder. "What are you doing here?" she said indignantly. "You're the enemy!"
Misao swung her feet carelessly. "It's a good view up here. And I want to know more about that Battousai. I never figured a monster like him would have a soft spot like you."
"He's not a monster," Kaoru said hotly. "He's sweet and gentle and kind, and I love him more than anyone in the world!"
"Battousai?" Misao said in disbelief. "Sweet, gentle, kind? You're kidding."
"I'm not," Kaoru said softly. "You don't know him. You didn't seem him when...he was still being forced to kill people. Every death left another scar on his heart; by the time I met him, his eyes - it was like he'd become two different people...the man I fell in love with, hidden behind the cold warrior he had become in self-defense."
"Wow," Misao breathed. "He sounds like...Aoshi-sama." Then her face reddened. "But not skill-wise! No way! Aoshi-sama's never lost to anyone, he became leader of the Oniwabanshû when he was fifteen! He won't lose!"
"Then Kenshin would die," Kaoru said fiercely. "But if Kenshin wins - and he will - Aoshi will live. Kenshin vowed, when he was set free, that he would never take life again."
"Hitokiri Battousai said that?"
"Why do you keep acting so shocked? I just told you what Kenshin's really like!"
"Well, excuse me for having a hard time believing that an assassin would turn out to be a wimpy pacifist!"
As they argued, Kenshin was beginning to notice, with some exasperation, that their battle was drawing an audience. At first, it was just unaffiliated wild fae, gathering curiously to watch, but then word must have spread, for here were the faster runners of both courts. When he had landed from delivering another blow and was able to look around again, he could see the queen's handmaids cheering him from one side, as Titania herself watched impassively. Kenshin's eyes darted to the other side of the meadow, where a growing crowd of dark fae were jeering. Enishi's white hair glinted near the center as he watched with a smirk, and next to him-
"Tomoe," Kenshin whispered before he could stop himself, and then cried out when the lapse of attention cost him more blood. Aoshi's admantine kodachi could not kill him by simple contact, since Kenshin was over half human, but his Seelie blood burned at the touch of that dark metal. Aoshi himself was injured, but showed much less blood, since the mythril sakabatô could not pierce flesh.
Up in the rowan tree, Kaoru glanced down and gasped in surprise. "Where'd all these people come from?"
Misao shrugged. "The king and queen always know when their champions are fighting."
Kaoru frowned. "What'll happen when one of them loses?"
"I dunno. Different things. Obviously if one of the combatants dies, that's pretty much the end of it. Sometimes the loser will enter into servitude, sometimes he's banished, sometimes he just has to throw a party for everyone...depends on a whim, really."
"I am reeeaaally hoping this is the party outcome," Kaoru said nervously, looking at Enishi's crazed eyes. Then she suddenly sat straight up, staring. "Whoa! What is that?!"
"Sword-dance!" Misao laughed. "Got to hand it to you, Kaoru-san...your Battousai must be something else, if Aoshi-sama has to use one of his secrets on him."
Below, Kenshin was ringed by a strange illusion as Aoshi glided around him, combining slow and fast movements so that the former assassin could not determine if what he saw was Aoshi himself or simply an after-image.
"Left, left, Ken-chan!" the maids were shouting excitedly. "He's on the left!"
"He's on the right, idiots," an elf warrior contradicted them.
"You're all blind, he's coming in from behind," another Seelie soldier cut in.
Kenshin was quite practiced at tuning them out, so he did so, focusing as much of his attention as he could spare on Aoshi. (Not quite all of his attention...there was no telling when unscrupulous Unseelie might launch themselves at him while he was preoccupied with the fight.) It was impossible to tell...and yet, this 'sword-dance' had a weakness-
"There!" Kenshin shouted, just as Aoshi struck; then Kenshin was sent flying, plowing to the ground almost at Titania's feet. He didn't get up.
"Ken-chan!" the handmaids cried, running to him. They dipped their fingers in his blood and inspected their wet hands curiously, as Titania made a face and swept her skirts out of the way.
The Unseelie were roaring with delight, cheering Aoshi and screaming abuse at the Seelie court across from them.
"K-Ken..." Kaoru choked out in a whisper. Then, "Kenshin!"
"There's his wench!" someone pointed out excitedly, and then all eyes were on her. Almost none of them were friendly.
"He picked that to share his bed with?" someone said in disbelief.
"She's just an ugly human!"
"That boy has always had bad taste..."
"Passing up Her Majesty for a mere mortal!"
The Unseelie comments were far less polite.
Kaoru's face went redder and redder as they went on, and there might have been a veritable explosion at that point if Enishi's voice hadn't come ringing out, cutting through the noise. "Kill her, Aoshi."
A sudden hush descended, and Kaoru's heart began to pound.
"I have no interest in slaying the woman," Aoshi said flatly.
"Kill her, Aoshi!" Enishi screamed. "Her life for Shikijô's!"
The troll still lay where he had fallen, his breathing shallow and irregular, as his comrades crouched around him. Han'nya had returned, but the antidote he had just handed to Beshimi was suddenly in Enishi's fist.
"Do it," the Faerie King commanded, his voice now calm.
Aoshi was silent for a moment. Then he raised his head and took a step toward Kaoru.
"Kenshin!" she cried desperately. "Kenshin!"
At the sound of her panicked voice, he began to stir at last, but too slowly. Aoshi was approaching, had poised to strike, and Kenshin had only just climbed to his feet and was staggering toward them.
"Aoshi," he snarled, blood streaming from his slashed chest, "your quarrel is with this one."
"No longer," Aoshi murmured, and struck.
"AOSHI!" Kenshin screamed, but it was too late.
Kaoru didn't even see Aoshi coming; her reaction was pure instinct. Her arms shot over her head, crossing just in time to catch the hilt of coming blade on the back of her hands. There was an instant where her white face was staring into Aoshi's shocked expression. Then she thrust forward, turning Aoshi's own attack against him, sending him toppling back out of the tree - and following right after him.
"Kenshin!" she screamed again, but the name hadn't even finished leaving her mouth when she realized that, unlike Aoshi, who'd had to execute a quick landing to keep his dignity, she was actually...floating. Astonished, she drifted gently down just in time for Kenshin to reach up his arms and catch her. There was a half-mocking chorus of "Awwww"s from the Seelie court, and "Booo"s from the Unseelie.
"Forget this," Titania said coldly. "Duels are meaningless when the audience interferes."
"I agree," Enishi said scornfully, his eyes burning as he surveyed the Seelie court, obviously thinking that the interference had come from there.
Kenshin was not able to stop himself from looking to Tomoe, who surely had rescued Kaoru from injury or death. Fortunately, he had enough of his wits left to let his eyes pass right over her, scanning down the whole crowd of dark fae. It would be dangerous to draw attention to her.
"A draw, then?" Titania was saying.
"Keep dreaming! Aoshi had him whipped and you know it!" Enishi shouted, backed up by his people.
"Then how do you explain this?" Titania pointed out, kicking aside the shattered pieces of Kenshin's sheath, which he had used to deflect Aoshi's attack.
"Next time, we'll decide for sure," Enishi growled. He took no notice when Aoshi wordlessly claimed the antidote and handed it to Beshimi.
By that time, Kenshin had his arm around Kaoru and was leading her to the crowd around his grandmother, who were calling to him excitedly and giving Kaoru dubious looks. "Kenshin," she whispered urgently, who are these people?"
"The Seelie court," he murmured back.
"I-Is that the Faerie Queen?" she hissed urgently.
He smiled a little. "Yes, Kaoru-dono. Don't worry...but please be careful."
"Oh yes, that's so reassuring!"
Kaoru was so nervously focused on the fae before her that she did not notice Kenshin glance over his shoulder, his face hard, and say soundlessly to the Faerie King, "Later."
Enishi grinned and waved, then turned to leave. Tomoe wore no expression as she followed him.
The handmaids ran forward first, fawning around Kenshin and crying reproachfully, "Ken-chan! You cut off all your beautiful hair! How could you?"
"Ha ha...this one is sorry you don't like it, that he is," he chuckled.
"It doesn't get in his way anymore," Kaoru said forcefully. She had been watching the handmaids, with their flawless looks and silly mannerisms and the bright flowers each wore in her hair, and decided that the extent of their physical affection for her husband really annoyed her. "I like it short, I think it suits him."
"But he's not pretty anymore," they whined.
"My grandson is still good-looking enough," Titania said critically, studying him. "Except for that blasted cross - I thought you'd taken care of that, Kenshin."
Kenshin, whose birthmark had been glaring crimson since Kenji's return, answered softly, "This one has no control over such a thing, Grandmother." He bowed his head only slightly, since he was now equal to her in rank, then tugged Kaoru gently forward. "Perhaps you are already familiar with this one's wife."
"Never seen her before," Titania lied carelessly. "What's your name, dear?"
"Kaoru," she answered shortly, not needing the silent warning Kenshin gave her as he squeezed her hand.
Titania raised an eyebrow. "Surely a princess would have a longer name than that?"
"Nope. Just Kaoru."
The queen frowned in displeasure. "Very well. I can't say I'm honored to meet a mortal, especially such a plain-looking one who nevertheless managed to seduce my grandson...but we won't kill you at least. Come. We return to court."
Kaoru looked like she wanted to say something very unwise in response, but Kenshin quickly kissed her again, probably to shut her up, though you would never have thought it from the loving smile on his face afterwards. Then they walked along hand in hand, with Kenshin seeming to drink in everything as the men conversed animatedly with him about skirmishes and fantastic sightings, and the women gossiped and giggled and unsuccessfully attempted to feel him up.
Kaoru couldn't help feeling a little left out, even though Kenshin was right next to her and had not once let go of her since she had fallen out of the rowan tree. It just seemed...like she was such an outsider here, and on top of that, Kenshin seemed to belong among these creatures in a way she never could.
But then Kenshin looked over at her again and smiled that sweet smile of his, and all her discontent vanished like smoke.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: I got the term "mythril" from the Final Fantasy games, and I'm sure they got it from the mithril in The Lord of the Rings.
"Translocation" is the fantasy equivalent of teleportation. Diana Wynne Jones uses the term, though I'm not certain if she's the one who coined it.