Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. I am just a fan girl with a wild imagination.
***Kaoru POV****
The next day was busy for Kaoru. She woke up early, made breakfast, quickly dropped off a tray of food to Kenshin.
The shrine would be open and running at full capacity today. When Kaoru headed out to open the shrine and prepare for visitors, she realized she was thankful for the distraction.
It would be nice to get back to work and do what she loved, helping people. If only that could keep her from thinking about Kenshin all day.
Later on, when Kaoru did return back to the main house, the sun was setting.
Two figures stood outside of the shrine house talking off to the side.
As she got closer, she realized it was Kenshin and Okina.
Kaoru halted, and felt anxiety settle in the pit of her stomach.
Was he leaving?
Wait a minute, how is he even standing right now?
This can't be the same guy she had picked up three days ago.
Kaoru slowly headed over to them until she was practically in the middle of their conversation.
Both of them stopped what they were saying and looked over at her.
"Y-you're okay?! How are you out of bed right now? Are you crazy?!"
She saw both men visibly tense and Kenshin slowly turned towards her and smiled softly.
"Hello Miss Kaoru, yes, I am feeling a lot better, that I am. I have someone who is coming to get me don't worry."
"You needn't worry Kaoru, he will be fine. Don't forget Megumi is not an ordinary doctor."
Are they both gaslighting me? This feels wrong.
"That still doesn't explain how you are able to move around right now, what did Megumi do? Pump you full of drugs? You can't blame me for being concerned."
Kaoru crossed her hands over her chest and frowned at them. She wasn't going to budge on this. How could they both just be so nonchalant, and why was gramps going along with this?
He just wants to get rid of Kenshin, he is trying to push him out!
Kenshin backed up and put his hands up in a display of peace.
"Miss Kaoru, I'm okay I swear. Megumi did give me some medication, maybe that's what it is."
Okina broke through their side conversation and deliberately cut Kaoru off.
"Kenshin, as I was saying please use the back exit to leave. It would be less obvious for you to leave that way."
"Alright, I will exit through the back, that I will. Thank you for your hospitality. I appreciate you letting me stay here."
"You are more than welcome. If we ever meet again, I hope it is under different circumstances."
The two men locked eyes for a moment in understanding. The hidden meaning of Okina's words was not lost on Kenshin. He gave a small nod and then turned to Kaoru.
"Miss Kaoru, would you do me the honor of showing me to the back exit please?"
Kaoru stood there in a daze with her mouth open.
Was this an episode of the twilight zone? I guess we really are going to send him on his way.
"Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin questioned again.
"Uh, Ya! Sure, I guess I can do that. This way please."
As they turned and left, Okina watched with a stern look. He would wait right there until Kaoru came back.
He knew the demon would try to proposition her. Hopefully she would choose wisely.
Kaoru turned and began walking towards the path that would lead them both to the exit.
Though she did decide to take the scenic route to make it last just a little longer.
This path was beautiful and cut through the garden part of the shrine. Tall trees, Koi ponds, stone statues, and wildflowers were all a part of this trail.
As they walked along Kenshin commented on the beauty and the details of the shrine here and there. Kaoru fed him little bits of information about the shrine's history as they continued.
As their path went through the trees, and when Kaoru was sure that Okina was more than out of ear shot she turned to Kenshin.
"Kenshin, did Gramps say something to you? If you aren't feeling up to it, you can stay longer. I won't let him bully you or push you out."
Kenshin looked at Kaoru, his serene smile faltered when he saw the concern in her eyes. He would have to reassure her.
"Miss Kaoru, I appreciate you taking care of me. That I do. He didn't push me out, but I do need to depart though for the safety of us both."
Kaoru glowered. She was tired of hearing that.
Okay okay, I get it already. Enough with the safety. He's a hunted man blah blah blah.
"Look Kenshin, I am just worried about you is all. It's not every day that seriously wounded people show up. Clearly, I haven't seen a lot of that in this occupation."
Kenshin stepped towards her and clasped her hands in his. He smiled warmly down at her.
"Miss Kaoru, you have been generous, and nothing you have done in these past few days has gone unnoticed. I have not had a lot of kind people in my life, and I will not soon forget this."
Nothing I've done in the past few days has gone unnoticed? Eeeppp the kiss!
Kaoru's face turned into a tomato as he talked to her. His hands were soft but firm around her hands and his reassuring squeezes were not helping.
Neither was his intense eye contact. Kaoru was flustered again.
"-And if thing were different Miss Kaoru, I would have actually liked to get to know you, you seem like a lovely person."
He's so sweet. Ugh. And he's leaving damnit.
Kaoru cursed the irony of her current situation. Finally, a guy was being nice to her, and he was on his way out of her life.
Kaoru would take a risk and tell him how she felt.
If it ends bad, then god help me.
"Kenshin, I have come to care about you. I wish I could get to know you as well. Please know that I won't treat you like a stranger once you walk out of these gates. You will always be welcome by me."
Towards the end of her sentence Kaoru pulled Kenshin into a light hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She made sure to hold him gently and not apply pressure on his chest.
Kenshin tensed up, unsure of what to do. He smiled when he felt her feather light lips on the scar on his cheek.
Their closeness allowed him to enjoy her floral scent. He breathed in deep and tightened the hug slightly.
"Thank you, Miss Kaoru, it means a lot to hear you say that." He spoke quietly into her shoulder.
He would indulge himself just this once.
Just. this. once.
Based on her actions last night, He was confident that she would allow him.
Kenshin slowly turned his cheek in towards Kaoru's face, tilted his head, and pressed his lips against hers.
Kaoru blinked in shock and seized up. Then, she took a breathe through her nose and relaxed into the kiss wrapping one of her arms around his shoulders and pressing herself closer to him.
She followed up his kiss with a few light kisses of her own. Bravely, Kaoru gently ran her tongue against Kenshin's bottom lip.
His tongue slowly came to meet hers and they deepened the kiss. Kenshin slid one of his hands up the back of her neck and through her hair, pressing her face closer to his.
He relished in the feel of her soft lips against his, and her gentle surrender.
Kaoru felt a shift in Kenshin's ki and he became more assertive. His lips moved against hers feverishly as he backed her up against a tree.
Kaoru found that she didn't mind. She returned his kisses eagerly. The feel of the firm tree against her back gave her reminder that this was real and not a dream from her overactive imagination.
His other arm reached down, and he used that hand to trace the outline of her hip and round behind.
Kaoru moaned into the kiss and unconsciously arched her back in an effort to bring him closer. Kenshin used his arm to pull her hip up to wrap it her leg around his waist. Pressing himself in between her legs.
Kaoru felt heat pooling in her center as Kenshin's body settled against hers. She felt a pressure between her legs. It was consuming her and clouding her thoughts.
Thankfully the loose fabric of her priestess robes was flexible. Kaoru used the closeness of their hips to softly grind her core against Kenshin. She wanted no needed to feel some relief from the intense sensations she was feeling.
She felt a growl against her lips. A growl?
Something hard pressed against her hip and her eyes flew open.
Is that….what I think it is?
She broke the kiss to get some air and Kenshin used the opportunity to dip his head down and cover her neck in kisses.
Kaoru let out a breathy moan as his lips graced over a particular sensitive spot on her neck. He used his teeth to gently bite her neck giving her goosebumps.
"Ah..Kenshinn.." She turned face to look at him and he lifted his head to look at her sensually with amber eyes.
Kaoru gulped.
His eyes! They are that strange color again!
"Y-your eyes! They've changed.."
The battousai chuckled softly. But he didn't break their position or back away.
"Did you miss me little blue bird?" He said peering down into her flushed face and swollen lips.
She looked delicious.
"It's you! You're the one from the other night." Kaoru accused.
"Him and I are one in the same. We share the same body."
"What? How is that possible?"
"How to explain it in human terms. Hmm, maybe an alter ego?"
Human terms? What the fuck?
He was mocking her. She hated his smirk and his matter-of-fact tone of voice. Whatever this weird personality was, she wanted the other one back.
Kaoru tried to wiggle out of his grasp. Her leg was still wrapped around his, and he kept it secured with his arm. His other hand was pushing against the tree at the base of her other neck effectively boxing her in.
"Your struggles are not unpleasant for this one, little blue bird."
Kaoru glared at him. Her warm fuzzy feelings were gone, replaced with irritation.
"What do you mean human terms? And don't get used to it, pervert!"
The battousai was not deterred by her insult at all. He shrugged his shoulders and lazily smiled back at her. He chose to ignore her first question.
"Were you not just enjoying yourself a moment ago? Am I the only pervert here?"
Kaoru seethed. She refused to feel shame; this was his fault!
"YOU-You..are the one who started this—"
The battousai watched her argue with him in admiration. Ah yes, his favorite part of her demeanor; Her feisty side. It made playing little games with her fun.
"You think you can just do whatever—"
His demon fed on her humiliation and anger; it enjoyed the tense conflictual atmosphere. The battousai decided to end her rant.
He covered her mouth in another bruising kiss while slipped his left palm down to the valley between her thighs to cup her womanhood firmly.
Kaoru forgot to breathe. Her body was overwhelmed by the feeling of his strong hand against her most intimate place. His middle finger found the small bead between her lips and was softly stroking it.
Fire coursed through her veins, and she found that she could barely kiss him back.
Her mind went blank as she focused on the new feeling, and she felt the need to argue die. One moment she was yelling at him, the next she was losing control of her body over his touches.
The battousai basked in triumph, his ability to cutoff her temper with a single touch. This creature fascinated him.
How far could he push her before she broke? He continued his ministrations, enjoying the way her body responded to his. He could feel the moisture from between her legs against his fingertips. It was soaking through the fabric of her pants.
His middle finger began a slow rhythm against her bead, moving slowly back and forth. He kept his kisses slow and gentle. He loved teasing her.
After a minute or two of this new movement, Kaoru's breathing began to change.
Her breath came out in pants, and he felt a small tremble in her legs. However instead of stopping, he continued a consistent pace with his finger until her thighs began to shake around his hand.
Kaoru held onto his shoulders now. Afraid that if she let go, she would fall into a useless heap onto the ground.
Kaoru was lost in sea of lust, the sensations he was creating with his hand was completely new to her. It was as if she didn't know her own body.
She felt a pulsing heat from her core taking over her being. Something was throbbing, building with an intensity with each stroke of his hand.
He must have sensed her urgency for completion because he sped up the movement of his finger against her. It was as if he could read her thoughts.
Suddenly, Kaoru felt her body seize up. She broke the kiss and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried out. A feeling of bliss consumed her as her muscles spasmed against his hand. Then her body softened against his hard one.
Dazed, Kaoru allowed him lower her down to the ground into a sitting position. He knelt with her peering into her face and cupping it with his right hand. His golden gaze was gentle, but there was still an intensity behind his eyes.
He was peering into her soul.
"Come with me Kaoru."
Kaoru glanced back at him with half-lidded eyes. She was in a trance. Her mind felt like mush trying to process everything that had just happened.
"W-what?"
After a moment, he repeated himself.
"Kaoru come; I want to show you a life outside of this shrine."
Kaoru couldn't wrap her head around the meaning of his words.
Come with him? What like run away? He sounded so poetic.
Before he could ask again, a loud call interrupted their meeting.
"Kaoru! Kaoru where are you?!
Kenshin's hand left her face. He moved to stand.
It was Okina. That's right. Kaoru was just supposed to show Kenshin the exit. How long had they been gone? She snapped back to the present as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water onto her.
She turned around to look for Okina, he was headed in her direction. He would find her soon.
Kaoru turned back to talk to Kenshin, only to find him gone. GONE?
How was that possible? How could he have left so quickly?
"Kaoru! There you are! Are you alright?"
Okina found Kaoru hunched against the base of a tree looking lost. She was disheveled, and her clothes were wrinkled, and her hair was in tangles. Okina feared the worst.
"What happened to you? Did he hurt you? Kaoru! Kaoru?"
Okina was kneeling beside her now with worried eyes.
Kaoru realized she was supposed to respond.
"N-no. No, I'm fine. He is gone."
Gone. Her heart clenched in her chest. Tears built behind her eyes.
Okina saw the change in her face and decided to hurry her back to the main house.
That god damn demon.
He had placed some sort of spell on Kaoru. She seemed bewitched.
Okina was relieved to see that she didn't have any observable injuries, but he suspected something had gone down before the demon left.
Kaoru, let Okina lift her to her feet and grabbed his side as they walked back the way she had come.
Tears streamed down her face as they walked, and she let them fall.
**********Kenshin POV*****************
Violet eyes with flecks of gold watched them from afar, high up in the branches of a nearby tree.
Kenshin watched her lust turn into confusion as she looked around for him. When the old man found her, she grew upset.
Kenshin could smell the salt of her tears and sense her anguish from his post.
His demon was no longer in full control.
Even so, Kenshin couldn't bring himself to leave just yet. He felt, guilty leaving her like this. He longed to feel her in his arms again.
How could such a strong connection to the girl have formed in a few days?
This couldn't all be from his demon lusting after her. Part of this was his desire as well. She was undefiled and alluring to him.
He brought his fingers to his lips and licked them. He had allowed himself many selfish pleasures today. He closed his eyes and moaned softly.
Her essence was sweet, like spring water. It was almost enough to make him leave his tree and rip her away from the old man.
Almost.
He couldn't stay away from his duties much longer. His enemy would be able to figure out his location and come for him.
It would be foolish to remain unarmed.
Okina had given him some clues around the location of the demon swordsmith, and he needed to head out.
I will come back to see you again Kaoru. Please don't cry for me.
Focusing his energy, he decided on a form and began to transform.
His bones crunched and cracked as they shrunk and shifted into a new shape.
Within a few moments, his body twisted into the lean form of a Harris hawk.
With poise and control Kenshin took off into the setting sun, his wings carrying him away until the shrine became a small shape in the distance.
**********Author's Note*******
Don't worry he will be back. :)