Disclaimer: I don't own this series or anything related to it. I just really really like this show. (_)
****Kaoru's POV****
Kaoru followed behind Yumi; she was starting to feel nervous.
What kind of Demon would Shishio be. A big hairy monster? A Shinigami?
Kaoru watched Yumi open two large wooden doors.
She entered the room and bowed deeply to the man at the focal point of the room.
There, in the center of the room, a man sat on a green Victorian couch.
He was tall, with tan skin. A high ponytail sat atop his head. He had waves of gorgeous brown hair.
He had all the features a male could want, chiseled jaw line, square shoulders, a muscular build.
Something seemed off about him though.
The look on his face was telling, his lips were pulled tightly into a frown.
He sat hunched forward, one hand on his hip and the other holding a pipe.
He seemed bored.
His hands were set in dark leather purple gloves, he had bandages covering his chest and legs. Those bandages were covered by a silky purple kimono. He wore his kimono slightly draped over his person.
His eyes drew Kaoru in, they were a blood orange, and seemed to flash purple when hit by the light at certain angles.
His eyes. The eyes of a demon.
Kaoru stood and openly stared at him. She felt like a deer in the presence of a tiger.
When Kaoru stopped in her tracks, Yumi grabbed her forearm and pulled her forward to stand in front of this man.
"Come on, waiting on you waiting for? Face Lord Shishio."
Kaoru's throat clamped up. She had just been openly gawking at him.
This is fucking awkward.
Shishio smirked at her and stood up from his place on the couch. He took a long drag out of his pipe and blew the smoke into her face.
When Kaoru coughed, he laughed at her.
Kaoru frantically waved a hand in front of her face to dispel the smoke.
"Welcome to my lair, few make it here alive."
Kaoru stiffened at his words.
"Why am I here-"
"Stupid girl, address Lord Shishio with respect!" Yumi bellowed from behind her.
Yumi grabbed Kaoru and pushed her down the ground harshly so that she was kneeling in front of Shishio.
Kaoru glared at her before trying again.
"Lord Shishio, why am I here?"
He laughed and sat back down on the couch. He paused to take another drag from his pipe.
Shishio eyed the girl in her delicate pink yukata and studied her doll like features. Yumi had dressed her well.
She's a child. Nothing more than a brat.
Still, he knew that she would entertain him. Shishio decided that he would enjoy this interview.
"Your recent activities dear Kaoru, have caught my attention." His deep voice answered.
"M-my recent activities? ..L-lord Shishio." Kaoru almost forgot the honorific. She felt Yumi's stare from above her.
"Yes, it is intriguing to me, that a plain human would want to harbor and help a vicious killer such as the battousai."
How dare he talk about Kenshin like that.
Kaoru was sick of hearing people talk about him this way.
She sat up on her knees and placed her hands on her lap. Kaoru looked up at Shishio in defiance.
"He's not like that! He's kind, and courageous-"
Kaoru felt a pounding on the back of her head mid-sentence. Yumi had stepped forward and punched her in outrage.
"Don't talk back to Lord Shishio! Do you have a death wish?"
Shishio's eyes narrowed at Yumi. Despite her actions, he sensed a double meaning behind her words.
Yumi had a soft spot for this wretch and was trying to help her.
That won't do.
"Enough Yumi. Leave us, I will deal with the girl."
Yumi looked at Shishio with a question in her eyes. They shared a moment. Kaoru felt the tension in the air thicken as if there was about to be a fight.
It was short lived as Yumi backed down.
"Yes Lord Shishio, I'll be close by if you need me."
Yumi addressed Kaoru one last time. Before she turned to leave.
"Good Luck."
Kaoru turned her head and stared at Yumi's retreating form.
What was her fucking problem?
Shishio cleared his throat and Kaoru whipped her head back around to look at him.
He grinned wolfishly at her.
I am alone with him now. Kaoru realized.
"What are you to the battousai?"
"Why do you want to know, Lord Shishio?" Kaoru questioned back.
Shishio pressed his lips back into a firm line for a moment. Then decided to change tactics.
"Tell me Kaoru, did the Battousai tell you that it was our fight from which he obtained his injuries that day?"
Kaoru realized he was talking about when she first found Kenshin.
Kaoru gasped at him.
"It was you-Lord Shishio!"
He stood up taking his pipe with him. A thin trail of smoke followed him as he walked. Shishio headed over to a golden bar cart in the corner and poured himself a drink.
"Yes, it was me. He is alive because I let him crawl away."
Kaoru's head spun with a million questions.
She gripped the fabric of her yukata between her fingers and squeezed.
"Lord Shishio, I don't understand. Why did you attack him?" Kaoru tried to suppress her anger.
Shishio carried his drink back over to where Kaoru kneeled. He chose to stand behind her instead of sitting back down.
"You see Kaoru, the battousai and I have a history. It spans hundreds of years. Call it bad blood."
"Bad blood..Lord Shishio?" Kaoru asked with a level tone.
"Yes. Did he tell you about how he fought in the revolution?"
Kaoru nodded slightly, waiting.
"The battousai and I fought on opposite sides. He fought to end the revolution, and I fought to keep it going."
"You were on the side that started the revolution?" Kaoru questioned.
"Yes, and I crossed swords with the battousai many times. He was a constant thorn in my side. So, I helped a grieving bride exact her revenge against him."
Shishio paused and took a sip of his drink. He waited for Kaoru to connect the dots.
"Wait. WHAT. You mean Tomoe?" Kaoru again skipped the honorifics. She rose to her feet and faced Shishio.
Shishio laughed in amusement. Kaoru was easily susceptible to his words. She was playing into his trap perfectly.
He started to circle her, setting a lazy pace. Eyes flashing with malice.
"Yes, after hearing that he killed her husband, I helped her to find him. Even though she wasn't successful in killing him, she created an exciting new challenge for me. His demonic transformation."
"You were happy about that?"
Kaoru turned her body towards him as he walked around her, trying to catch his gaze.
Shishio downed the rest of his drink and threw the glass over his shoulder. Kaoru jumped at the sudden crash and sound of breaking glass.
"In his demon form, the battousai was glorious, he embraced his true nature. His fighting style completely changed; he was a worthy opponent. Someone who could rival even myself."
"So what? I thought the bigger objective was winning the war?"
Kaoru regretted her question a moment later.
Suddenly Shishio was in her face, towering over her. His face revealed his irritation at her challenging him.
He gripped her shoulders to keep her in place when she tried to step back.
Kaoru didn't know what to do; he was so very close. A thin layer of sweat covered her frame.
"Puny humans such as yourself will never understand the true nature of demons. We long for carnage, violence, and supremacy over all weaker races."
His eyes changed to a darker shade of red as he continued his tangent. Kaoru could see his madness as she stared into them.
He is too close! Fucking creep.
"Let me go!" Kaoru wiggled in his grasp; panic started to set in.
Shishio tightened his grip on her shoulders instead into a bruising hold. Kaoru winced; pain spread down her arms.
"I've been patient with you until now. It's time to remember your place."
Her tiny frame in his hands felt so frail, he knew he could snap her into two easily if he wanted to. That thought excited him.
"Lord Shishio, I am struggling to understand what all of this has to do with me."
Despite his obvious advantage, Kaoru still stared back at him with ire.
It made his blood boil.
Shishio released her shoulders, lifted his gloved hand, and backhanded Kaoru.
The force of his blow sent her crashing to the ground, and she screamed in pain.
Kaoru looked up at him in horror holding her face. She felt her cheek begin to swell beneath her hands.
Shishio approached her again with his wolfish grin back in place. He stalked her.
"Kaoru, I've been watching you just now. It would seem that you and the battousai have formed quite an attachment. You will tell me exactly how deep it goes."
"We have no such thing!"
"Lying won't help you. It is in your best interest to be as honest as possible."
Shishio was reaching for her now, Kaoru tried to scoot back on her butt and put more distance in between them.
Her attempts were futile; Shishio grabbed Kaoru by hair and lifted her up in the air.
He raised her up so that she was eye to eye with him.
Kaoru tried to struggle and beat against his chest with her hands. Each movement she made to oppose him made her scalp burn.
She could feel individual hairs being ripped from their follicles as they tried to support her weight in the air.
Shishio laughed as she struggled against him.
He took his free hand to his face and put his gloved fingertips in his mouth.
One by one he removed his fingers from the glove until his hand was bare. He maintained eye contact with Kaoru the whole time.
"Dear Kaoru, do you know why I wear gloves and bandages?"
"A fashion statement?" Kaoru's face was tight as she hung in the air.
Shishio chuckled darkly at her cheekiness.
He would show her.
Shishio used his bare hand to grab Kaoru's wrists so she could no longer punch at his chest.
A searing heat pierced Kaoru's flesh and she screamed in agony.
His hand was so hot, it sizzled the flesh of her wrists causing them to instantly blister.
He was burning her.
"It is because I am a fire demon, spawned in the hottest pits of hell. Without them I would eventually melt everything I touch."
He waited until the end of his sentence to let go of Kaoru's wrists. Tears rolled down her face and she cradled her scalded limbs to her chest.
He brought her tearstained face up to his lips and licked the salt from one of her tear tracks.
"We can do this the hard way, or the easy way Kaoru. You decide."
Kaoru 's fighting spirit faded as she realized the direness of her situation.
He enjoys hurting me.
"Yes." Kaoru ground out. She tried to appear more submissive by casting her eyes down.
"Good girl. Now where were we?" Shishio mocked her.
Shishio lowered his arm holding Kaoru, he allowed her feet to lower to the ground.
Instead of completely letting go of her hair, he wound his gloved fingers in the hair at the base of her neck.
He used this position to hold her head back, forcing her to look at him.
Kaoru's hair was thoroughly tangled, and her pink ribbon fell to the floor.
She winced in her new position and waited for Shishio to start his questioning again.
"So, what is the extent of your relationship with the battousai?"
Kaoru knew she had to answer him. But even she didn't know exactly what their relationship was.
Was he, her boyfriend? Her future lover?
"We haven't committed to anything serious yet?" Kaoru offered.
Shishio shook his head in response. He brought his bare hand close to her face but stopped right before he could palm her check.
"Not good enough. Try harder."
Kaoru swallowed as she thought about what to say. She felt like she was telling on Kenshin.
"He and I are seeing each other?"
Shishio nodded and smirked at her.
"That's what I thought. Has he fucked you yet?"
Kaoru blushed and scowled at him. She couldn't shake her head because his grip was so tight.
This fucking pig.
"No! He has not."
"I don't believe you. I know him, there's no way he hasn't tried to fuck you." Shishio teased.
Kaoru felt shame fill her and she looked down.
secretly she wished that Kenshin had.
"We haven't yet, I swear."
Shishio watched her in disbelief.
There is no way he hasn't.
"Well, there's only one way to find out."
Kaoru looked at Shishio in horror.
He couldn't mean. He wouldn't!
Shishio used his fist at the back of Kaoru's head to pull her neck roughly to the side.
She groaned in protest, unsure of what to expect. Her yukata had slipped down revealing a shoulder.
Shishio's bare hand grabbed the front of her robes, and she felt the hot fist burn through the fabric against her chest.
Shishio brought his mouth to crook of her shoulder and bit down hard drawing blood.
"Ahh! Why?!" Kaoru screamed in shock.
Fresh tears streamed down her face.
Shishio kept his mouth in place for a few moments longer. Kaoru felt his hot tongue against her flesh, lapping at the blood that welled out of the bite.
Shishio lifted his head and looked at her with her blood smeared over his mouth and lips.
"Mmm. Delicious."
He laughed evilly in her face.
She hadn't been lying.
"I'll be damned. He hasn't claimed you or bedded you. Your blood says it all."
"My blood?" Kaoru sobbed in confusion.
"Yes, the flavor is that of a virgin. When demons fuck, we leave traces of our presence. Sometimes a mating mark. Yet, your blood tells me you have none of these things."
"I-we just haven't yet." Kaoru whispered defeatedly.
"Still, my sources tell me that the battousai spent three months with you. Something must have happened. Has he touched you Kaoru?"
Kaoru opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
She couldn't say what they had done out loud.
It was too personal!
"What the matter? Do you need me to refresh your memory?"
Shishio slid his bare hand under her yukata and grabbed one of her breasts roughly.
She cried out in dismay and tried to pull his hand off of her with her own hands around his wrist.
Shishio didn't let go, though his hand wasn't as hot this time around, the pain was more intense in a tender area.
Kaoru screamed again.
He clamped down on her breast tighter. Waiting for her response.
"Don't touch me you bastard!"
She felt a wave of nausea come over her when he finally let go.
"Then enlighten me Kaoru, just how far have you gone with the battousai?"
As Shishio spoke, he used his hand to pull her robe down over her shoulders and down to her waist.
Kaoru was too scared to fight him as he exposed her breasts and torso to his roving gaze.
"No wonder the battousai is taken by you."
"Fuck you."
"Oh-ho. There's some fight left in you yet."
With that, he reached his hand down to the fabric in between her thighs.
His crazy red eyes bored into her watery blue ones in a threat.
Kaoru felt the heat of his fist between her legs. He had raised the temperature of his skin again.
"Did he touch you here?"
"No, no please!" Kaoru sobbed, squirming in his grasp.
He was going to burn her there!
"Answer the question or suffer the consequences."
"Yes. Yes, he did." Kaoru stammered.
"I see."
Shishio abruptly released his hold on Kaoru and stepped away from her.
Kaoru quickly gathered her robes and desperately tried to cover herself. She was humiliated.
"Monster." Kaoru spat at him.
"Indeed, much like the one you have at home."
Shishio sat down on his couch again and loaded his pipe with fresh tobacco.
"Let me enlighten you Kaoru. You are going to aid me in drawing out the battousai. Then I will kill him when he is at his best."
Kaoru didn't even try to argue back. She was scared of what he would do next.
"Yumi, come here." He called. Shishio took a long drag of his pipe.
The door opened at once as if Yumi had been standing behind it.
"Yumi, I have finished questioning the girl. Get her out of my sight."
"Yes, my lord."
Yumi quickly made her way over to Kaoru and grabbed her hand.
She led Kaoru out of the room and closed the double wooden doors behind them.
Kaoru tried to hold up her robes with one hand while she stumbled after Yumi, wincing in pain.
Once inside Yumi stared at her with a vexed look on her face.
"Are you insane? Why would you try arguing with him! Look what's happened to you?" Yumi said in exasperation.
She could see the burn marks all over Kaoru's body. She had indeed suffered first, and second-degree burns.
"I just…I hate him." Kaoru huffed trying to put on a brave face.
"Regardless, if you want to survive you will do as he says." Yumi reminded her.
"How can you serve him? He is an animal!" Kaoru cried out.
"Do not speak of Lord Shishio in such a manner. He saved me. He is the love of my life." Yumi seethed.
Kaoru realized that Yumi was her only source of support at the moment. However, fucked up the situation. Kaoru backed off.
"I'm sorry. I won't cause any trouble for you." Kaoru sighed.
Yumi studied Kaoru and bit her lip. The girl would need her wounds to be cleaned and wrapped. She would also need food.
"Come sit, and I will bandage your wounds. I can't heal you; Lord Shishio wouldn't approve."
Kaoru sighed dejectedly and went to sit in front of Yumi. Her burns were throbbing under her robe.
Yumi dressed her wounds carefully, applying a thick gel to the burns and wrapping them with a loose gaze.
After Yumi had wrapped her up, she ran a comb through Kaoru's tangled hair. Kaoru twitched occasionally when Yumi combed through the thicker masses of knots.
Once Yumi finished, she led her to a locked room with a bed.
Kaoru settled into the bed and tried to get comfortable.
"I will bring you food and water later. Try to rest for now." Yumi offered.
Kaoru nodded and closed her eyes. As she drifted off, she heard the door being locked from the outside.
******Author's Note:***
PHEWWWW. It took me a while to post that chapter. It was hard to write.
But here we are! Back in business!
More to come in the next few days.
I've three more chapters in the works, just have to edit them.