Just so no one gets the wrong idea just yet… please remember that Kaoru is only being nice right now because she wants to try and get on Kenshin's good side. She doesn't really hate him, but she's not his biggest fan.

Disclaimer: I own no one's thoughts but my own.

Chapter 5: The Lord

Two steps outside the door and her irate shriek and the thump of something hitting the wall caused Kenshin to pause. The scowl on his features grimaced. She was so temperamental and nothing like he remembered. It made him wonder why he even wanted her there.

Off the porch and standing in the middle of the yard, he let his wings spread wide to shift and play with the cool night breeze. One quick snap took him into the sky, their leathery expanse working hard to lift his weight until an updraft could lessen the labor. The effort did not bother him as much tonight. He needed an outlet for his anger.

Pity, sympathy, or even fake pleasantries were none of the reasons he had wished for her presence. Landing with an abrupt jerk on the roof of the main hall, he dug his claws into the wooden tiles, staring with narrowed eyes off into the night. The last thing he wanted from anyone was sorrow over his apparent plight. What did anyone know about him? Even his servants, everyone that now lived under the press of his punishment, knew nothing. What difference would it make if they did? What difference would it make if anyone knew?

None. Even if she knew. Especially if she knew. That girl understood nothing of his life.

Growling under his breath he lifted his still clenched fist, unfurling his fingers to gaze down upon the broken pieces of ivory left over from her audacious gesture. He had seen it in her eyes and on her face from the very first moment she had caught sight of him. Pity. For the scales on his skin, the horns on his head, and the claws on his hands. Those blue irises didn't even see him. They saw this covering, this costume he was forced to wear at all times. It was just like anyone else who had ever seen him. Whether terror or sympathy, it didn't matter, because it only meant he was being treated as inferior. This Kaoru was nothing like the girl he had known before. Age, it seemed, was her condemning curse.

This was all her father's fault. If he had only sent the girl like he had been told she would even now look upon him as a familiar face, without the clouding judgment of adult eyes. There would be no awkward tension and she would know there was no need for her sickeningly false actions of kindness. He didn't want kindness, he didn't even want company, he wanted his life back.

Not that he was fooling himself into believing she could give that to him. No one living in this new world could give that to him. The old ways had died out long ago, and he was all that was left. The rules had changed with society. There was nothing to discover, no thrilling fear of spontaneity. Everything was so planned and rigid and known. The dignity of everyday life was slowly disappearing. This new land once owned and ruled over by his father no longer had the same values. Even if he was to be freed… he didn't want this new life.

She is worthless to me. I will send her back…

The memory of that happily smiling face relaxed his muscles just barely, knowing he had seen its ghost on her lips today.

…in a few days.

Standing gruffly, he turned his back to the view of the village below. I still need to punish her father, after all.

Amber eyes landed on the small shrine tucked away to his left, the soft moonlight illuminating its shining walls. Something dark still sat at the top of its entrance stairs, and Kenshin cast aside his confused and bitter anger for another type of irritation. Leaping from the palace roof on silent wings, he circled the building once as he descended, landing gracefully in the dirt and folding his wings at his back.

The large wolf still camped out on the porch acknowledged him with one lazy eye before swishing his tail and letting it fall shut. It was blatant disrespect, but Saitou had never liked him. Kenshin could not say he had ever liked the wolf, either.

"Do you have more commands to give me, little lordling, or am I free to go?"

The words were a challenge, but Kenshin hated the effort it took to banter with his quick witted tongue. Besides, on that night, he didn't have the patience to put up with the aggravation that was sure to follow.

"Go."

The snarl had no affect on Saitou, and Kenshin watched as he picked himself up and trotted down the stairs, his large muzzle nodding in mock deference. With all the hits his pride was taking in one night, Kenshin's snarl turned into a threat.

"Just remember, the next time you show your teeth to my guest, I'll make your wife a widow."

Sharp ears pinned back angrily, but the look on his face told Kenshin he had gotten the point, and believed he would follow through. "Yes, sir." The reply itself was almost satisfying, and Kenshin felt some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate. Smirking at the small victory he padded his way up the steps, his talons clicking on the wood.

No one entered the shrine, Kenshin had made that clear from day one. Over the years he himself had rarely set foot within its walls. To be honest he avoided the place as if it were hell itself, and for him, it almost was.

As the door slid shut behind him, the uncomfortable stiffness in his being returned tenfold, the atmosphere unwelcoming and prickly against his skin. An eerie glow lit the interior with partial luminance, shadowing the multiple branches of a tree and the walkway surrounding it. In the beginning the light had been stronger, shining like high noon even at midnight. Now, however, its strength was greatly diminished, only a muted flickering coming from the last two cherry blossoms hanging onto blackening limbs. It was a sign… his time was almost gone.

Then his true punishment would begin.

"A visitor?" A dark figure appeared next to the tree, halfway hiding behind its solid trunk. The agitation inside him trembled with fury and fear. He hated being afraid. "I haven't had a visitor in awhile now."

"I have not come to see you."

Suddenly the figure was closer, just within the branches, their craggily arms wrapping around it as if in an embrace. "But you are here, and I am the only one to see."

The soft light was now behind the being, outlining its shape on one side and giving detail to their person. It was a woman, her cheek pale, her hair dark, and her stature elegant. Kenshin thought that perhaps she was beautiful, but his hatred for her had eclipsed all other observations besides the annoying all-knowing of her personality.

"Have you come to check your time?"

Now she was next to the blossoms, her hands reaching to cup one in her palms. Their radiance shown fully upon her face, depicting all of her perfect features. The light shimmered in her black eyes and sparkled off the delicate skin of her long fingers. A small smile graced her lips, a rare showing of her pleasure. "You do not have much left."

"Neither do you." Resentful, he tossed the knowledge back in her face.

"I know." To his displeasure her smile only widened. "But you are the only one who should be worried. Once the hourglass has emptied there will be no turning back."

"At least I will no longer have to deal with you." Trying to act indifferent, he growled back, but she paid him no heed.

"No, Lord Himura, only yourself… for all of eternity."

Seething, his temper broke once more that evening. "Why did you not just kill me?"

"To live is a much greater punishment." Her hands dropped and she stepped back into the shadows. "You could easily take your own life if you are not brave enough to face the consequences."

"I would never let you win so easily!" Shouting, his voice reverberating inside the small enclosure, his talons scratched harshly into the wood beneath his feet as his toes clenched. The shaking of her head was all that greeted his outburst.

"Winning was never the point, young lord. If you still do not understand that, then you will never be free of that form. You are the same selfish child you were a thousand years ago."

"I have been called a child one too many times today." His voice was a low growl of warning, but he could not intimidate her. Instead the statement peaked her curiosity, causing her to materialize on the walk next to him.

"You have, young lord?" She stepped closer and he tried to retreat, but found there was no where to go. "But who among your vassals would be bold enough to insult you so openly?"

"My servants obey me implicitly." Disliking the implication, he gave away what she wanted without thinking.

"A newcomer?" Excitement peppered her tone and he felt a touch of her magic as it brushed across him, making his skin crawl. A moment later and her hands were probing his clenched fist, the touch like cold soup, and he jerked his arm away to stall the churning of his stomach. Unsettled by the contact, his hand released the broken chopsticks, letting them fall to the floor. They were in her possession before he could protest.

"You've been in an argument over these. They resent you for breaking them." They twirled in the air before her, glowing with her magic as she studied them. "They've been shut away for a long time, and have obtained the scent of their musty container, but I still detect a hint of… jasmine. They liked being held by… her." Her gaze returned to him, her black eyes glinting. "They wished only to please her, by pleasing you. But you hurt them and they resent you… they resent you for hurting her." The ivory pieces stopped spinning to float motionless between them. "You have a lady in your palace, Lord Himura. How interesting." There was the barest hint of a smile in her voice.

"She can hardly be considered a lady." Looking away, his original annoyance of the night came rushing back, reminding him of everything he did not like about this Kaoru now staying at his castle.

"A girl, a female, a woman; call her whatever you like, but a lady is still present. And she has dug herself under your skin. Is that why you have come to visit me?" A small gasp echoed through the room, and she breathlessly giggled. "My last visitor was a girl, and she had the most pleasant scent of jasmine about her. Is it she? Has she come back? You must bring her here to visit me."

"Don't presume to tell me what to do." Swinging out his hand sharply, he slapped the hovering pieces of ivory out of the air, sending them to land in a layer of pink dust below the tree. "She will never come near this place ever again. I will make sure of it."

Wrenching the door open to leave, his jaw trembled at the amusement in her voice. "But you can't watch her all the time. She will eventually find her way back to me. She does have something of mine after all, and I will ultimately want it back."

Slamming the door shut on her declaration, he stomped back down the stairs, even more furious now than when he had arrived. That woman always had the same effect on him, though, and he was unsure of his own reasons for going there to begin with. Perhaps, just as she had said, he had gone only to check his time.

Sighing, his eyes closed. By mid-summer all of the petals would be gone and he would finally be free of the wicked hope that woman had planted within his mind. A small seed of chance that whispered of his liberty from her curse. After a thousand years there was only one truth Kenshin now understood… there was nothing in this world that could fulfill such a dream.

Kenshin was not even sure if he knew what exactly needed to be done to break the curse. The witch had told him upfront when she had first cast the spell, completely open with the details of his blight, but it was so complicated and confusing. He had told her so once, a few hundreds years ago, but she had only looked at him with pity in her eyes. The same pity he had witnessed in Kaoru's an hour before.

Kenshin hated being pitied, more than anything in his life.

Everything was already apparent, clear, and forthright; he was going to end up living like this forever. Forever. Even longer than the stars. Nothing would be left beneath his feet and still he would live on, trapped in the reflected form of his heart; a blood red beast designed only for death, destruction, and misery. There was no reason for her to be there.

He hadn't even planned on keeping her after the next summer came anyway. He'd only wanted… to see her face again; to see that smile. But she was no longer a child, she was a woman. A pretty woman… when she wasn't yelling.

I should not have even made her come. This was all a waste of time…

In flight before he finished the thought, Kenshin aimed for the pavilion that was to be hers. If there was no reason for her to stay then he would let her know tonight so that she could leave in the morning. He wanted her gone before she completely ruined the small amount of peace he had claimed.

The inner room of the building was lit only by a single candle when he landed on the veranda, spilling light out of the crack in her shoji. Soft, feminine voices were drifting through the night air, and Kenshin cursed his luck at finding her already engaged. It was easy to tell with whom, as well, considering Misao had a very distinctive voice. Settling his back to one of the pillars, he crossed his arms to wait, determined to be rid of her.

"You didn't pack more than one kimono, milady. Are you planning on wearing these men's clothing?"

"Why not? It's not like I'm trying to impress anybody, and besides, they're more comfortable anyway."

"I'm not so sure the lord will like that too much."

"What do I care what he thinks?" The permanent frown on Kenshin's face deepened another notch with her cool answer. "He obviously doesn't care what I think."

"He's just not used to you yet, I'm sure he does care a little." The statement sounded doubtful, even to him.

"Right, because screaming in someone's face is the best way to show respect."

"Well… he has been peerless for quite some time. I think he's having a hard time dealing with someone who can actually criticize him without consequences."

"It wasn't like there weren't any consequences." There was a laugh in her tone… it lightened his frown. "Besides, all of you have been around him far longer than anyone else. Why wouldn't you be able to speak to him familiarly? Doesn't he consider you his friend?"

"Uh…" Amber eyes darted to the gap in the door, confused himself why she would even think something like that. Didn't she know they were only his servants? "I mean…" A shadow moved in front of the candle, and Kenshin realized then that she must have been changing out of her kimono into a sleeping robe. "That necklace is very beautiful, Kaoru-dono! Where did you get it?"

Kenshin recognized the servant girl's avoidance of Kaoru's question, but Kaoru had no qualms in letting herself be sidetracked. Truth be told, Kenshin was a little curious about Misao's inquiry himself.

"You like it?" A soft slither of metal on metal suggested she had taken it off. "Father told me my mother gave it to me." The tension in Kenshin's back relaxed, and he was surprised to find he was disappointed.

"You don't remember yourself?"

"No. I was only five when she died of the sickness. I only have a few memories of her, but they were all good ones. None of them include the necklace though."

"So… do you wear it all the time in remembrance of your mother?"

"I… well, I won't lie and say it doesn't have some sentimentality because it was a gift from her, but… I don't know, it's just special somehow… in a different way."

"It looks kind of like a cherry blossom petal, don't it?"

Kenshin went very still.

"You think so? Me too! Dad always said it was probably some cheap piece of glass, but I don't really believe that. For one thing, it's too pretty."

Swallowing with difficulty, Kenshin stood straight and carefully stepped through the outer doors of her pavilion into the hallway.

"For another, it kind of glows, like it's absorbed the light around it and holds it in. It's even warm sometimes… though that might just be because I wear it under my kimono all the time." She laughed again, but this time he was able to watch the mirth crinkle her features through the cracked shoji of her room. Kneeling on the floor in a yukata, she was holding out her arm towards the weasel, and dangling a necklace from her hand. It was a simple silver chain with a piece of silver wire attached to it. He would have recognized it anywhere.

"Also, it's easy to tell the craftsmanship is special as well. Look at how the wire is bent around the flower petal. It was done so very carefully. Whoever made this has very gentle hands." Bringing the necklace closer to her face, blue eyes smiled at the ornament hanging from its chain. "Gentle hands mean a gentle heart."

Misao made some kind of reply but Kenshin did not hear it as he snuck away. Head bowed once more, his eyes stared at the upturned palms of his own hands; at the callused skin covering the pads of his fingers. The anger he had felt all evening was gone, and he no longer had any desire to send her away.

M-maybe I shall do it tomorrow.

X

A/N: A little bit of insight on how Kenshin thinks, and it looks like he's not quite so sure he likes Kaoru. Some hinting of the past, and Kaoru's going to be wearing men's clothes. heehee What's this stuffy little lord going to do about a tomboy running around his palace? Especially since she doesn't follow protocol like he thinks she should. He's about to get a crash course on independent women.

Hope it was entertaining. Leave a review please and thank you.