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Broken Pieces: Chapter 22 - separation

by linay ::: 17.Feb.2004

We fall toward the moment when

All our fears and dreams collide

***

The room was dark. The tiles were cold. And she was alone.

Kaoru sat listlessly on the floor, leaning heavily against the cool wall. Her blue eyes, pale in the moonlight, searched the night sky. The tears that had long since dried on her cheeks left her skin burning, except for where tendrils of her loose black hair had plastered themselves. Her wrists were raw and red from the metal cuffs that bound them together. They had clothed her in a simple white smock, one that was thin and nearly translucent in the half-light.

When she had first been thrown like a rag doll into the cell, she had pounded mercilessly on the unyielding door, screaming bloody murder until she was hoarse. Then, sinking to her knees in the same spot as she was now, she had bowed like a flower under the rain and wept bitterly. Finally she had lifted her head, only to lay it heavily against the wall. Only her eyes moved now, tracing unseen patterns in the sky.

Hope, like a fleeting warm breeze, had fled Kaoru.

***

“Ishigawa?” Katsura turned to stare at Kenshin and Yahiko with concern. “The man who took Kamiya-san was called Ishigawa?”

“Yes, sir,” Yahiko nodded humbly, “He was my employer.”

“He is also Tokugawa’s right hand man,” Katsura expounded, his tone rising, “And a most dangerous adversary. Himura,” he turned to regard his assassin disapprovingly, “How could you let this happen?”

Yahiko stepped forward bravely. “It was not his fault,” Yahiko admitted, bowing, “It was all mine. I let them find her.”

“Even so,” Katsura frowned, “This is most inconvenient.”

Battousai’s lips tightened into a thin line, his jaw working angrily. “I will go and retrieve her at once, Katsura-san.”

“As I recall,” Katsura said angrily, “I had this same discussion with Takasugi regarding Uno. And he was not permitted to go after her.”

“Surely,” Kenshin growled, “You can’t be thinking of leaving her with them.”

Katsura cocked an eyebrow. “Will you disobey me?”

Kenshin glared at his mentor, his fists clenching furiously. Yahiko looked up at the man beside him. He could clearly see the passions at war within the assassin from the fierce set of his jaw and his flared nostrils.

“In this matter-” Kenshin began, his voice tight.

“This matter is no different than the others,” Katsura interrupted coldly, “If you go after her, there is no telling what damage would be done to our plans.”

Kenshin spun swiftly on his heel and slammed his fist into the wall, uttering a loud curse. He roared, beating the wall again with three powerful punches. Then he rested his forehead on the wall, his breath coming in short gasps. Swallowing painfully, he rolled his head back.

The choice lay before him: defy his master and rescue his love, thus risking the future he had already worked so hard for or obey and leave his love in the lions’ den, securing their victory. He shut his eyes tightly, squeezing back the burning tears behind his lids. After swearing colourfully and pounding the wall once more, he spun back to face his leader once more, eyes dry and defiant.

“I will obey,” Battousai hissed, his fine facial features trembling.

“Come with me,” Katsura commanded, leaving the room.

Yahiko walked at the heels of Kenshin, who strode purposefully through the club after Katsura. His eyes hooded and jaw firmly set, he stepped into the black car that waited outside the doorway. The car sped away.

***

The door opened, a bright rectangle of light in the dark room. Kaoru did not bother to turn.

“Come.” The command was cold, promising pain if not obeyed.

Kaoru turned toward the light, shielding her eyes from the light with her bound hands. She regarded her captor with dim eyes. Then, she rose slowly, straightening to her full height. Her bare feet padded quietly across the tiled floor as she approached the man and his armed entourage.

“I see you remember me,” a man dressed in a white lab coat grinned cruelly.

As she walked past him into the sterile hall, she cast the scientist a disdainful look. “You can’t hurt me anymore than you already have,” she said softly, her voice hard as flint.

“We’ll see about that,” he smirked, his eyes glinting behind his large, round glasses.

Kaoru held her chin up stiffly, already walking away from the man; already knowing the way. The man skipped forward quickly to get ahead of her determined steps.

“Excited?” He puffed as he struggled to stay one step ahead of her.

Kaoru raised a delicate eyebrow and didn’t bother to answer him. At the end of the sterile hall, she could already see the double doors looming in front of them. She fought the quickening of her heart as the doors were pulled open to reveal an almost blindingly white room. Opposite the doors was a wall of windows and she could see hazy forms moving through the darkened panes. She knew they were always watching.

“Welcome home,” the scientist hissed.

Kaoru felt light-headed as she stared into the hateful room but she bit her lip, fighting the nausea.

“Get her ready,” the man barked at the armed guards as he stalked off, heading for the observation room.

Two guards roughly grabbed Kaoru by the upper arms, nearly lifting her from the floor as they pulled her into the room. Kaoru closed her eyes and battled the urge to kick and scream. From experience she knew that it never did any good, that they always got what they wanted anyway. She struggled with herself, desperately clinging to what dignity she had left. The guards dragged her to the very center of the room and then flung her to the floor. For just a moment, her raw wrists felt the cooling touch of the air as they unbound her hands. But in the next moment, she felt as if her shoulders had been wrenched from their sockets as the guards secured her wrists to the floor. Kaoru trained her eyes on the floor as the men, whom she refused to look at, began to place wired suction cups on her temples and back. When it was done, she was left kneeling in the center of the whitewashed room, her hands bound on either side by thick leather straps. The doors shut closed and the fluorescent lights burned on. She squeezed her eyes tightly.

“Ready?”

Dimly, she registered the voice of the head scientist and knew he was talking to his colleagues and not to her. She knew that he was checking the quality of the readings on one monitor and checking the wiring to another video screen. She heard the voices of the others and braced herself.

“We’re set, I think.”

“I wonder how much of a fight she’ll put up?”

“Who knows?”

Although Kaoru was expecting it, the electric shock that passed through the wires and into her flesh still sent her reeling in pain. When the first burst was over, she fell forward, panting and trembling. Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself for the next.

“No images yet.”

“Gad, is she ever stubborn.”

“Give her another round, then. It can’t last.”

Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she arched backward, the strange current rushing through her like a live flame. She twisted in pain, every muscle contracting in agonizing pain. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it ended and she collapsed again. Though her vision was blurring with pain, she bit her lip until it bled, tasting the horrid metallic tang on her tongue. She would not give in, she chanted to herself, she would not let them see.

“One more long one should do it.”

“Might it kill her?”

“No, just be ready to kill the current when I say so.”

Kaoru was breathing with difficulty now, her chest rising and falling with pained effort. “No,” she breathed, “Please don’t.” But the surge still came, filling her veins with fire and making her body twist in pain.

“No!” She was screaming aloud now, and didn’t care.

“We’re starting to get a picture now.”

“Good. Get ready to cut that current.”

Kaoru snapped her blue eyes open, searching the endless white ceiling. She could feel it pulsing at the very edge of her consciousness, flaring up in response to the electricity burning her body.

“No,” she prayed, “Please, no.”

And then, her body snapped back, her eyes immediately unfocusing.

“Cut the power!” The scientist roared.

And though the electric current was cut, Kaoru still shuddered as if possessed. But her eyes were no longer seeing the ceiling. The voices around her, dimmed.

Blood, so much blood.

“Who is that?” One doctor asked, peering at the indistinct image in the monitor.

“I don’t know,” replied the scientist, “Just make sure you’re recording all of this.”

The shine of his steel cut through the blood like a flash of lightning. It was raining blood.

Kaoru shook, tears coursing from her wide, unseeing eyes. Forgive me, a quiet untouched voice in her mind whispered.

HE made it rain blood.

The scientists, all riveted to the tiny video screen, saw what Kaoru saw. Saw the man rise from the fresh pools of blood and wipe away the blood that ran down his cheeks like tears with the back of his sleeve. Saw him flick away the thick coating of blood on his sword.

Kenshin.

And watched the flame haired man emerge from the thinning fog, his eyes a smoldering amber.

Kaoru’s body suddenly convulsed violently, her limbs straining against the leather constraints that bound her to the floor. “No,” she shrieked, “No!”

“Quick,” the scientist ordered, “Give her a quick round!”

At the pulse of electric energy, she jerked forward violently, her hair swinging forward and hiding her tear stained cheeks. Her memories were pouring through her now, filtering through the wires and baring themselves to her enemies on a small video screen. Kaoru knew they would not stop until they knew everything. She slumped forward, no longer fighting the rush. It was as if she were a pebble on a riverbed, the violent river waters sweeping over her.

An old and familiar tune bubbled to the surface of her tortured consciousness. Her dry and cracked lips began to move, forming the familiar words slowly.

If oceans collide,
If the moon crossed the sun,
I'm wasting my breath
With no name and no one

Hot, stinging tears burned at her cheeks as she hovered between the white examination room and the hazy visions of her memories. The disembodied voices of her torturers drifted within her hearing.

“We just need to see the face of that guy’s employer.”

“Don’t we already know?”

“Tokugawa-san wants proof. We also need the location of their base of operations.”

“Crushing the little revolution will be easy, after that.”

Kaoru hunched over her knees, her forearms tense as they pulled against the bonds that held her. So, they would use her to expose Kenshin and the others. But did she care? Did she owe them any allegiance?

“Who is that?” A voice reached her ears, “And why do we keep seeing him?”

Kaoru looked up sharply, her blue eyes darkening as she fought to focus on the memory that they were ripping from her mind. Through a murky fog she saw the interior of her captor’s apartment and at the center, stood her captor himself.

“It must be Battousai.” The comment was a hushed whisper of fearful awe.

Though not a large man, he was drawn up into an imposing stance - his chin not lifted in arrogance but set forward in determination and his shoulders squared. One had rested casually on the hilt of one of the swords that hung at his hip. His flaming hair was bound up high and fell across the black of his trench coat.

Kaoru choked out a sob as her heart constricted. Did she care that all that her captor had worked for would fall to pieces? That all the blood he had shed would have been poured out in vain? She stared longingly at his still form, even as the memories were shifting again, moving to reveal more of Choshu’s secrets. Bowing her head, Kaoru let the words of a song, which was as instinctual to her as breathing, fall from her lips.

The silence of the sound
And the colour of the night
And the sound from the thoughts
And the thought from the light

Inhaling deeply, she set her face determinedly. She would not let them win this way.

The scientists’ eyes all snapped simultaneously from the screen to the room as a harrowing, shrill scream broke out from their subject. The girl’s head was thrown back, her mouth gaping in a shriek.

“Is the current on?” The head scientist demanded sharply.

The other men shook their heads bewilderedly. Suddenly, the lights flickered. Turning stunned eyes to the room beyond the glass, they saw the girl’s body arch impossibly as her scream intensified.

“What the hell…”

A shine, brighter than the inhuman brightness of the fluorescent lamps, seemed to radiate from her skin. Her body shuddered and an intangible pulse of energy burst outward.

“Quick!” the scientist shouted, jumping up to pull random cords from their sockets, “Disconnect everything!”

Their observation room erupted in sparks as cords snapped from monitors and screens flashed.

“Cut the power!” Someone bellowed.

The rooms were plunged into pitch black. And then, suddenly, all was silent.

***

When they pushed the doors open to Katsura’s dimly lit study, two figures were already waiting: one as tall and slim as the other was large and burly.

“You,” Kenshin spat, sinking into a battle crouch, his hand automatically going for the sword at his side.

Aoshi stood stoically still at the other end of the room, his lips grim and his blue eyes gleaming in distrust.

“There will be none of that, stupid boy.” A majestic voice boomed from the man beside Aoshi.

Though he did not straighten, Kenshin’s eyes grew wide in astonishment. “Master?” he nearly choked.

Seijuro Hiko stepped forward. “Who did you think it was, you idiot?” He sighed exasperatedly. “Stand straight, you fool. There’ll be no fighting here.”

Kenshin’s wary amber eyes shifted to glare at Aoshi. “Why are you with him?” He bit out savagely.

Hiko touched his fingertips to his temple, sighing wearily. “Aoshi Shinomori is in my employ,” he elucidated, “As is Megumi Takani.”

“What?” Kenshin’s demand was a hiss of disbelief.

“Hiko is my friend and ally,” Katsura said quietly, turning to face Kenshin, “Our two organizations have been collaborating for the past year.”

“You mean to tell me,” Kenshin seethed through clenched teeth as he straightened, “That you had me kidnap Kaoru from your own men?”

“Yes,” came the simple answer.

“Why?” Kenshin asked incredulously, his voice rising.

“That is something that I would also like to understand,” Aoshi stated, his flat voice carrying from the other end of the room.

“Shut up!” Kenshin snapped sharply at the other warrior. “And you, master,” Kenshin snarled bitterly, “I thought you were opposed to using your strength for this cause. As I recall, you disowned me for it.”

Hiko shrugged and said cryptically, “Katsura and I have a deal.”

“What deal?” Kenshin was fairly trembling with rage.

“It is none of your concern,” Katsura answered quietly for Hiko, “Now come.” He crossed the length of the room to stand near his mahogany bureau.

Hiko watched his former student’s breaths come in short gasps, his muscles taut and quivering in anger. He was teetering on the edge and Hiko knew it.

“Come!” Katsura commanded his chief assassin again, gathering the other men around the desk.

“Am I your dog?” Kenshin hissed dangerously, his burning eyes slits of anger.

Hiko’s lips tightened as he saw the madness in those eyes. His own pupils swiveled apprehensively from Katsura’s impassive face to Kenshin’s rage-contorted features and back again.

Katsura regarded his employee contemplatively for a moment before answering. “Yes,” he replied, his voice cool, “Yes, Battousai, you are my dog. I say kill and you kill for me. I say come and you come. I say stay and you will stay. Don’t forget, you took that role upon yourself.”

Yahiko, nearly hidden in the shadows of the room, watched in terror as Kenshin shook with anger, his face hidden behind his long red bangs. And suddenly, the assassin’s face blanched and he went perfectly still, as if the rage had been drained from his body. When he looked up, his features were hard and taut, his lips a thin line and his eyes narrow slits of reined-in fury. He walked toward his masters, his steps unfaltering and his muscles rippling as if strung together by tight wire. Yahiko fought the urge to tremble in fear. This Kenshin, cold and inhuman, was infinitely more terrifying.

“What are your orders then?” Battousai asked, his tone was low and grim.

“My orders are simple,” Katsura announced quietly, “Shinomori will retrieve Kamiya-san-”

“I refuse to work with him,” Battousai articulated softly, leveling a menacing glare at Aoshi.

“You will not have to,” Katsura revealed, “Because he will be going alone. You will continue with the assassinations I assigned you.”

To his credit, the hard lines of Aoshi’s features did not shift into a victorious smirk. Instead, Aoshi’s expression remained neutral as he met Kenshin’s hard stare.

“You gave her to me,” Battousai reminded Katsura, a sinister edge underlying his casual tone.

“And now I am taking her away,” Katsura pronounced.

“I see.” The assassin’s piercing gaze centered on Aoshi. “If she is even scratched,” his voice was mild but the threat was undeniable, “I will hunt you down.”

The taller man nodded almost imperceptibly. “No harm will come to her,” he replied calmly, “Of that I am certain.”

Battousai turned to his master. “Am I dismissed?”

Katsura nodded.

“And the boy?” he asked quietly.

“Hiko will take him to Megumi,” Katsura replied.

“Very well.” Kenshin inclined his head toward Hiko. “Master.” His former master snorted and looked away. “Shinomori,” Kenshin said evenly, “I wish you success.” Turning on his heel, he stalked away from the small cluster of men and headed for the door. A slight figure stepped from the shadows as he passed.

“Kenshin?” Yahiko ventured timidly.

Kenshin halted, his eyes dropping to the boy. He stared down at the child, his eyes knife-like in intensity. Yahiko swallowed nervously.

“Take care,” he said, his voice coming out in barely a whisper.

Battousai narrowed his eyes and nodded curtly. Then, his steps quick and light, he left the room. While he waited for the elevator, he fished a small black envelope from his pocket.

He needed to kill something.

***

The scientist pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes with the back of his sleeve. He sighed, surveying the mess tiredly. When the light had been restored, his observation room lay in ruins - cords strewn about and even a few monitors aflame. When they had pried the videocassette from the monitor recording the girl’s memories, they had found it to be a melted waste of plastic and magnetic tape.

He turned toward the white room where guards were cautiously attending to the unconscious girl. The men were carefully peeling away the suction cups and leather bonds as, somehow, they had fused to her skin. Her white smock clung to her lithe form and sweat was gleaming on her skin. The guards hoisted the girl up, hooking each arm over one of their shoulders. She was pulled from the room in much the same way as she was brought in - except this time, her head lolled sickeningly to one side and her toes dragged across the cold tiles.

The scientist’s brow puckered in a frown. What had the girl done? It seemed as though she had channeled energy through the wires.

But that wasn’t possible.

Or was it? The scientist’s lips lifted in a grin. The possibilities seemed endless as hypotheses ran through his mind.

***

“An informant has contacted me,” Katsura explained gravely to Hiko and Aoshi, “And has told me of the types of experiments Bakufu is capable of performing on Kamiya-san.”

At this statement, Aoshi’s features hardened. “What kind of experiments?”

“By channeling electricity through her body,” the elder man said somberly, “They are able to force her memories into visual representations which they then capture on video.”

“Cruel,” Aoshi muttered softly.

“And dangerous for us as well - if they are able to understand what they see,” Katsura continued, “It is imperative that you retrieve Kamiya-san immediately. Today even.”

“I will not fail,” the tall ninja vowed.

“Speed,” Katsura indicated, “Is of utmost importance. Kill any who stand in your way but do no more than that. Himura-san will dispatch the others once she is safe.”

“And where should I take her?”

“Back to Takani Medical Centre, I suppose.” Katsura sighed. “Yes, that would be the best place.” He looked up at Aoshi. “Go. Now.”

With no more than a curt nod, Aoshi was gone, dashing out the door.

“You certainly manage to bring out the best in people, Kogoro,” Hiko stated dryly.

“This situation hardly calls for sarcasm, old friend,” Katsura reproached the large man, “We could lose everything.”

“He will go mad.”

“You mean your former student?” Katsura clarified, “He may indeed. But it’s the only way.”

***

Battousai leveled a terrible stare at the man cowering against the grimy wall. Twisted and mutilated bodies littered the alley around them.

“I deliver heavenly justice.” The words left the assassin’s lips like a breath of air.

Battousai’s agile body darted swiftly through the dark. Before the man could utter another wail of terror, the killer’s slender fingers were wrapped around his throat, pushing him into the wall. Cold, merciless golden eyes surveyed the target’s contorted face for a moment. He nearly snorted in disappointment when he saw only panic in the man’s brown eyes. The fool possessed none of the strength she had exhibited when he had come for her that first time. Without hesitation, he retracted the hand that was crushing the victim’s windpipe and brutally swiped the edge of his blade across the man’s throat. Battousai watched impassively as the man’s neck burst open as he sank down against the wall. With detached precision, the killer flicked the blood from his blade and re-sheathed the sword. He turned to leave the gory alley.

He did not bother to wipe the blood that dotted his cheeks.

***

Kaoru lay huddled in a corner of the pitch-black room, shivering from the cold. She had not even been afforded a window. Her eyes roved blindly around the dark closet of a room. The only light she could discern were the white slivers that marked the outline of the door. She swallowed painfully, clinging to the light and pushing herself farther into the cold plaster of the wall. Cold sweat beaded on her already damp forehead as she tried to stretch out her legs. Abruptly Kaoru stopped, stifling a cry of anguish. Her lower limbs were still numb and moving them sent the sensation of pins and needles up her legs. Blinking back tears, Kaoru rubbed her sweaty palms over the skin of her calves and thighs, desperately trying to bring warmth back to them.

A sudden thump against the door to her cell caused Kaoru to snap her eyes back to the faint outline of the door. She saw two flashes of silver at either side of the door and then the hulking rectangle fell forward, crashing to the floor before her. Kaoru squinted at a figure looming in the brightness.

“Kenshin?” She dared not lift her voice above a whisper.

“No.” The tall figure stepped into the gloom of her sterile prison.

“Aoshi-san.” Kaoru tried to keep the disappointment from her voice as her heart sank.

“There’s not much time, Kaoru-san,” he said, his voice calm and quiet, “Come.” He held out a hand to her.

Kaoru nodded and leaned forward to push herself up. But her legs protested painfully and she let out a strangled whimper, falling back again.

“I’m sorry, Aoshi-san,” Kaoru murmured.

“Don’t let it trouble you,” he replied softly, trying to force down the anger that rose to his throat at seeing her condition, “You have suffered much today.”

Aoshi crouched before the slight woman, his dark blue eyes assessing her injuries. She grimaced slightly as he carefully lifted her forearms, turning them upward. The man seemed to grow even more impossibly silent as he examined the raw skin and red welts that surrounded her delicate wrists.

“Aoshi-san-” Kaoru began uncertainly.

“Kaoru-san,” he interrupted gently, “I can see for myself that it is quite painful. Please do not try to convince me otherwise.” He pulled a tiny jar from his coat, and quickly began to dab a cool balm on her tender skin. “From Megumi,” he explained quietly. “Now,” he announced in a murmur, “I am going to pick you up.”

Kaoru clasped her hands around his neck as Aoshi slipped one arm beneath her knees and one behind her back. As he lifted her, Kaoru’s muscles screamed in protest but she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face into his neck.

Aoshi’s calculating eyes snapped to the opening as he heard rapidly approaching shouts. He glanced down at the girl in his arms. “Forgive me Kaoru,” he whispered, “But I must run.”

Silently, Aoshi shot through the door and into the hallway. Without a backward glance at the guard he knew had seen him, he sprinted toward the nearest window.

“Don’t let them get away!”

“Don’t shoot the girl!”

The guards stopped to take aim with their handguns. Bullets whizzed through the air but Aoshi dodged them all, skillfully ducking and leaping out of the way. He suddenly accelerated and, with a giant leap, hurtled toward the large window. Kaoru and Aoshi crashed through the glass and he ducked and rolled onto the roof, Kaoru cradled in his arms. Without stopping to brush the glass from his coat, Aoshi took off again, leaping from the roof and landing on the concrete below in a low crouch. Ignoring the sound of running steps from above, he strode swiftly to the motorcycle that lay waiting at the curb. He swung a long leg over the seat and shifted Kaoru’s position as he revved the engine. His face grim, Aoshi swung the motorcycle around and then took off, rapidly disappearing into the dark streets of Kyoto.

***

Battousai watched unemotionally as his opponent struggled to his feet, his arm hanging limply at his side. It must be broken, he deduced offhandedly. The assassin held his long sword by the sheath, studying his victim’s pale face.

Battousai saw only terror in the man’s eyes, fright in his thrashing movements. He narrowed his eyes. None of them were equal to her. And they all died alike.

“Heavenly justice,” he murmured as he slowly unsheathed his cruel blade.

He surged forward and his sword whipped out in flashing arc of steel. The man’s body buckled, his head rolling a few feet away.

***

Kaoru suddenly bolted upright, panting and searching her surroundings.

“Kaoru-chan?”

Kaoru’s gaze whipped around to the voice’s source. Her glazed eyes slowly took in the tall, slender form of a beautiful woman.

“Megumi-san?” Her own voice cracked and came out as no more than a raspy whisper.

“Yes,” the woman said comfortingly, “You’re safe now. Aoshi brought you back a couple nights ago.”

“A couple?”

Megumi nodded, coming to sit on the edge of her bed. “You’ve been unconscious for the past two days.”

“Oh.” Kaoru folded her hands in her lap and studied them. “So, I am in Takani Medical Centre, then.”

“Yes.” Megumi searched the downcast face of her patient and friend. “Can I get you anything?”

“No,” Kaoru answered quietly, “I’m fine.”

“Are you?” Megumi leaned forward, gently tipping Kaoru’s chin up to search her fathomless blue eyes.

The corners of Kaoru’s mouth tugged upward in a half-hearted smile. “It’s just strange.”

“What is?”

Kaoru swept her arm around the room. “Everything is,” she replied, her voice lowering, “I just got so used to being with him that-”

“Please don’t tell me you’re talking about Battousai,” Megumi interjected sternly.

“Don’t call him that.” Kaoru’s tone was sharp.

“That’s his name.”

“Not his real name,” the girl protested, shaking her head.

“Don’t tell me,” Megumi studied her patient incredulously, “That you’ve-”

Their conversation was abruptly cut short by a booming voice from the doorway.

“Well, look who’s back!” Hiko bellowed, “So the ninja didn’t screw up after all.”

“Hiko!” Megumi chided, “Why are you screaming in my patient’s room?”

He shrugged and stepped in, his bulky frame obscuring the view of the hall. “I heard you met my stupid pupil.”

Kaoru regarded him quizzically. “Your pupil?”

“You mean he didn’t talk about me?” Hiko feigned a hurt expression.

“Oh,” Kaoru said suddenly, “You can’t be the master that Kenshin was talking about, can you?”

“The very one.”

She frowned. “But he said that you are no longer on speaking terms.”

“We’re not.”

“Well,” Kaoru asked curiously, “Why not?”

“Because,” Hiko replied gruffly, “The technique I taught him is not meant to be an assassination technique.”

Tilting her head to one side, Kaoru regarded the massive man thoughtfully. “Then why are you involved with Katsura’s dealings?”

“Because, silly girl,” Hiko replied, ignoring Megumi’s snort, “I still have just a little bit of faith in that idiotic boy.” He paused and then added, “Even if he has done absolutely nothing to merit it.”

“I see.” Kaoru looked away, her face pensive.

“Anyway,” Hiko said boisterously, “Katsura will be visiting you tomorrow.”

“Katsura?” Kaoru asked suddenly, “Why?”

“How should I know?”

Kaoru rolled her eyes and blew at her bangs. “Do you,” she asked slowly, “Know why Aoshi and not Kenshin was sent?”

“Kaoru!” Megumi exclaimed.

“Not really,” Hiko said, turning away, “But it is driving him mad.”

“Who?”

Hiko threw a glance at her over his broad shoulder. “Who do you think?”

***

Katsura looked up from his desk. In front of him stood Kenshin, his expression dark.

“Yes, Himura-san?”

“I’m done,” he said shortly.

“Done what?” Katsura enquired.

Kenshin tossed the black envelope onto Katsura’s desk. “The list of names you gave me. They’ve all been taken care of.”

Katsura stared at the packet disbelievingly. “All of them? In just two days?”

A wolfish grin, that spread chills down Katsura’s spine, appeared on Kenshin’s stony visage. “Let’s just say I’ve had some extra free time lately.”

“I see,” Katsura said with a frown. He pulled another black envelope from a desk drawer and reached over the desk to hand it to his assassin. “Then I suppose you can start on these names.”

Kenshin took the black envelope from Katsura’s hand. “I’ll start tonight,” he said, his voice quiet and detached.

“As you wish.”

“One more thing,” Kenshin spoke, his tone weighted, “Is she safe?”

“She?”

The expression in Battousai’s eyes darkened. “You know who she is.”

Katsura raised a hand dismissively. “Yes, Kamiya-san is safe.”

“Good.” Without another glance, Kenshin spun on his heel and marched from Katsura’s study.

Katsura stared after the retreating form. He pressed a button on his phone.

“Yes, Katsura-san?” The voice of his secretary came from the speaker.

“Call me a cab,” he commanded, “Quickly.”

***

“Kaoru-san.”

“Aoshi!” Kaoru smiled, her face sunny, as her bodyguard entered her room.

“You have a visitor.”

“Who is it?” Kaoru asked, hope blossoming in her stomach.

Aoshi frowned at the excitement in her voice. He moved to the side of the door, allowing her guest to pass.

“It’s me, Kamiya-san.”

The smile immediately dropped from her expression. “Oh,” she said, looking away, “Good afternoon Katsura-san.”

“Good afternoon,” he returned the greeting, “I’m glad to see you are well.”

“I’m sure,” she said bitterly.

“I have a proposal for you,” Katsura continued, pleasantly ignoring the gall in her tone.

“I’m not interested,” Kaoru replied immediately, “Not in the least.”

“Is that so,” Katsura murmured, “Even if it involves Battousai?”

Kaoru turned to face him, her eyes sharp. “Don’t call him that,” she hissed angrily.

Katsura smiled blandly. “Will you listen?”

“No!” she bit out.

“Very well,” he said, making as if to turn, “Then I guess Himura-san will just have to kill everyone on his list.”

“Wait.” Kaoru’s blue eyes found his. “What do you mean?”

“Will you listen?”

“Fine,” Kaoru sighed, looking to the ceiling, “What is your proposal?”

Katsura produced a crisply folded sheet of paper from his breast pocket. “This is the list of people Himura-san was sent to assassinate. You and Shinomori-san will track these people, and you will take their memories, thus removing any reason to kill them.” He smiled, though his expression exuded no warmth. “Consider it a race. You start from the bottom, he from the top. The more people you get to, the less people he has to kill.”

“And what stops me from doing them all - keeping one step ahead so that he doesn’t have to kill anyone at all?” Kaoru asked dubiously.

“My dear,” Katsura replied quietly, “There are rules to my offer. One is to follow the order of names. Another is to promise not to run away with Himura if you should meet him while on your mission. Disobey them, and I will withdraw my generosity.”

Kaoru’s lips tightened in anger. “It’s all a game to you, isn’t it?”

“No, it is much more,” the man said, looking at her regretfully, “But reality is often played like a game. And I play to win.”

Kaoru looked down, inhaling deeply. “Fine,” she acquiesced finally, “I will do it. But,” she looked up, “Not for you. I’ll do it for his sake.”

Katsura beamed demurely. “That’s what I hoped.”

***

Battousai stalked through the darkness stealthfully, the next victim of heavenly justice already on his mind even if the blood of his most recent victims was still pumping from dying organs.

He’d left the laboratory only minutes before, leaving half a dozen mutilated bodies in his wake. Unlike his previous kills, he had stayed for a moment, appraising the room and its gadgets. His keen amber eyes had not missed the leather wrist bindings in the center of the white room nor the strewn file folders with her name written all over them. Amid the blood and gore, he had fought to control his ragged breathing as rage boiled up in his gut. This was the place where she had been taken. This was evidence of her suffering.

The rage tore at him, ate at him and demanded retribution. It wasn’t enough that he had killed them all; he wished to bring them back from the dead and kill them again, and again. For the first time, Battousai felt nothing but the primal need to kill and to maim.

It was with this bloodlust coursing through his veins that he left to stalk his next target.

***

It was raining and, though thoroughly soaked, the pair made their way through the muddy streets. Kaoru’s body sagged tiredly, leaning heavily against the arm Aoshi supported her with.

“Kaoru-san,” Aoshi suggested quietly, “Perhaps we should return to Takani Medical Centre.”

“No,” the girl replied through grit teeth, “I must finish them today.”

“You have already saved the lives of six men,” He murmured gently, “Isn’t that enough?”

“No,” she said, a coughing fit seizing her, “No, it isn’t enough. I need to keep going until there are no more to save.”

Aoshi paused in his steps, frowning. “You want to see him.”

Kaoru didn’t answer. Instead she staggered forward. “He should be coming out of that building,” she muttered to herself.

“There is little chance we will chance upon him,” Aoshi called from where she had left him behind.

“Can you hurry up a little, Aoshi?”

“Kaoru-san,” Aoshi said sternly through the rain, “You will not return to him even if we meet him.”

Kaoru stopped, heaving a sigh. She turned, her wet hair matted to her face and her clothes clinging to her skin uncomfortably. The expression in her blue eyes was mournful. “Aoshi,” she said quietly, her face trembling with impending sobs, “Don’t you think I know that?”

Aoshi’s jaw stiffened. “You chose him last time. You wanted to be with him.”

Kaoru smiled sorrowfully. “It’s never about what I want, Aoshi,” she clarified, a bitter tone creeping into her voice, “Never. I keep my word, that’s all.”

“Are you implying that you do not want to be with him?” Her dark-haired bodyguard’s eyes were probing.

“Can we not have this conversation right now?” Kaoru half-shouted, half-sobbed, “What does it matter what I want? Like you, I just do what I’m told.”

Aoshi observed her trembling features expressionlessly before striding forward to join her. He faced her for a moment, his dispassionate eyes scrutinizing hers.

“A lovers’ quarrel in the rain? How romantic.”

Kaoru whirled to stare at the source of the snide remark.

“That’s him,” Aoshi said from behind her, under his breath, “The next target. Are you ready?”

Kaoru nodded quickly. In the next heartbeat, Aoshi had shot forward. With moves almost imperceptible to the eye, he grabbed the man’s arm and twisted so that he was forced to his knees. In a quick flash of steel, Aoshi had his short blade pressed to the man’s jugular.

“Move,” he whispered, “And you will slit your own throat.”

The man’s eyes darted frantically about him. “What do you want? I’ll give you anything.” He hardly noticed the slim woman approaching him through the sheets of rain, her blue eyes sad. He finally saw her as she dropped to her knees before him.

“It won’t hurt you,” she said with a soft smile.

Extending two of her slender fingers, she touched them to the center of his forehead. Immediately the man slumped within Aoshi’s grasp. Aoshi looked up to see Kaoru jerk backward as if stunned, her brow creased in pain. Letting the man fall with a splash, he rushed forward to catch Kaoru, drawing her into his embrace. He brushed back a sopping tendril of black hair that clung to her face. Concern furrowed his brow as he studied her pallor.

After a few moments, Kaoru’s eyes blinked open. She shivered involuntarily. “He was a rotten man,” she muttered, pushing herself up. Aoshi hoisted her to her feet, an arm still draped over her slight shoulders.

“Well,” she declared determinedly, as she brushed excess water from her clothes, “Who’s next?”

Her question was met with the pattering of the rain on concrete. She frowned, looking up at Aoshi’s face.

“Aoshi?” she inquired tentatively.

He made no response. Instead, his facial muscles were tense and his icy eyes were trained on something behind her. Kaoru’s frown deepened. She turned to inspect whatever had caught his frosty attention. “What is-”

The question died on Kaoru’s lips. Her throat went dry and she fought to take in a ragged breath. There, not fifty feet from her, stood a man with such distinctive features that he could not be mistaken for anyone else. With hair that shone red in the rain and eyes that gleamed golden in the gloom, he cut an imposing figure. His black trench coat hung heavily with water and Kaoru could easily see the sword hilts that rested at his hip. And, she noticed dolefully, it was not only water that drenched his garments. Even through the rain, Kaoru could see the diluted blood dripping from the edges of his coat.

“Kenshin.” The name drifted from her lips.

Battousai’s fierce glare flicked from Kaoru to her guardian. Without a word, he sank into a battle crouch, his hand flipping back the waterlogged cloth that covered the hilt of his sword. With an audible snap, he thumbed the hilt from the scabbard. Aoshi, his glacial stare focusing on Battousai, only tightened his hold on Kaoru. Battousai’s features contorted in an enraged snarl.

“No,” Kaoru breathed. With a sharp intake of breath, she pushed herself from Aoshi’s protective hold, staggering toward Battousai’s aggressive form. She saw his muscles tense like a cat’s, waiting for the moment when she would be just far enough so that he could attack. From behind her, she heard the grating sound of Aoshi’s swords being unsheathed. She slowed to a halt. For a long moment, she studied him through the rain: the angry working of his jaw as he waited for her to move. Kaoru swallowed nervously.

“Kenshin?” Her voice was quiet, expectant.

“Move,” he hissed furiously.

Kaoru drew in a long agonizing breath. His demeanor had changed, had become even worse that it had been at the very beginning. She could already smell the blood that lingered on him. She shook her head slowly. Battousai’s lip curled angrily. Her eyes pleading, Kaoru extended her arms to him. Her breaths became tearless sobs as she watched his turbulent eyes flick from her to Aoshi and then back again. Praying that Aoshi would not attack, Kaoru beckoned to Battousai again with her arms open. Then, slowly he relaxed and straightened, his hand leaving the hilt of his sword. Kenshin took a few hesitant steps toward her.

It was enough for Kaoru. She ran to him, stopping only when they were inches apart. He reached for her, his hand pushing back dripping bangs from her face. Pressing her lips into his calloused palm, Kaoru ignored the urge to recoil at the sudden stench of blood that he exuded. When she looked into his face, she saw his eyes shine with a moist film akin to tears. Then the moisture pooled at the corners of his eyes and spilled over his hardened cheeks. Nearly smiling, Kaoru stretched out her hands to cup his face, drawing him closer and letting his arms fall around her. Kaoru pressed her forehead to his, tracing the scar on his cheek with her fingertips and winding her free arm around his neck. As Kaoru pressed her lips to his, Kenshin curled his arms around her, pulling her tightly to his body. Hungrily, he deepened the kiss, his mouth moving over hers desperately.

“Why are you here?” he panted, pulling his lips away from hers slightly.

Kaoru drew her head back to look him full in the face. “I am here,” she said, twining her arms more tightly around him, “To stop you from killing.”

“What?” Battousai straightened, his hands sliding to her upper arms.

“Katsura told me,” she explained, meeting his concentrated gaze, “that I could take away the memories of your targets. When all the targets are either dead or have no memory, you can stop killing.”

“Does that mean,” he asked in an uncompromising tone, “That you will be coming back with me now?”

Kaoru swallowed nervously and looked away. Battousai’s fingers tightened around her arms.

“I take that to mean that you will not be returning with me.” His voice grew unforgiving. “Why not?”

“I made a promise,” Kaoru replied meekly, meeting his aggressive stare timidly.

Battousai’s hands dropped from her arms. “I suppose you intend to go with him, not me.” His voice and expression became stony.

“Forgive me,” Kaoru whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

He stepped back from her outstretched hand, regarding her frigidly. His piercing amber eyes examined her broken expression. “Just who is the puppet now, Kaoru?” He asked bitterly, stepping even further away from her trembling body. Sparing her one last glance, Battousai turned and disappeared into the rain.

Kaoru didn’t fight the sobs that racked her chest as she watched Kenshin fade from sight beneath the thick sheets of rain. Tilting her head back, she cried to the sky. And suddenly, she didn’t know her tears from the rain that washed over her.

***

As soon as the drenched pair staggered into the Medical Centre, Megumi was all over them, dragging them into changing rooms and tossing them dry clothes. When the sodden mess had finally been left behind, Megumi had packed Kaoru into layers of blankets with instructions to relax with a cup of hot chocolate. Muttering about silly ninjas dragging adolescents into the rain, Megumi had wandered off to find a good movie to watch. Kaoru couldn’t help but smile at her coddling. But as soon as she was alone, her thoughts drifted to her encounter with Kenshin and her expression grew melancholy.

“Do you pine for him that much?”

“Aoshi!” Kaoru exclaimed, startled from her thoughts, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“No one ever does,” he replied ruefully. A rare attempt at humor from her stoic guardian.

Aoshi sat on the sunken sofa beside her, his elbows resting on his knees. A comfortable silence fell over them. Kaoru was familiar with his brooding quietness.

“Do you love him?” Aoshi asked abruptly.

“What?” Stunned by his forwardness, Kaoru turned to stare.

“Do you love him?” he repeated, his voice an octave lower.

“Love?” Kaoru blushed and looked away. “Love is a terribly strong word.”

“Your actions earlier seemed terribly strong as well,” Aoshi stated coolly. A brief silence ensued as Kaoru did not answer. “I am curious,” Aoshi began again, his voice even and steady, “Why did you choose him, that time on the school roof?”

Kaoru swallowed. “I made a promise to Katsura that I wouldn’t leave him.”

“Is that all?” Aoshi prodded skeptically.

“I didn’t want you to kill him,” Kaoru added quietly, “You would have killed him.”

“I would have,” Aoshi agreed, “But what is wrong with that?”

“He’s not a bad person,” Kaoru replied defensively.

“He’s Battousai,” her tall bodyguard countered, “An assassin who has murdered hundreds. You’re quite generous, Kaoru-san.”

Kaoru hesitated before answering. “He took care of me,” she said slowly, “And he was kind to me.”

“Does that justify his crimes?”

“His motives were pure.”

“Does even that justify murder?”

Kaoru swallowed with difficulty. “I don’t know.” She felt hot tears run down her cheeks. “All I know is that I want him to be safe and,” she choked as more tears followed, “I want to be near him.”

Aoshi turned to her, brushing away her tears with his thumb. “Then, why are you still here?” He asked, his voice slightly reproachful.

Kaoru balked at the man who was watching her with an earnestness she had never seen before in his expressionless eyes.

“Are you saying-” she began.

“I am saying,” he interrupted quietly, “That your task for Katsura has already been completed and so that game is over. The rules don’t apply now, do they?”

“Aoshi!” Kaoru whispered, “But you-”

“I am here to guard you, to protect you,” he spoke dispassionately, “But to me, your happiness is also a thing to be protected.”

Kaoru threw away protocol as she threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

“Don’t misunderstand,” Aoshi reminded her, “This doesn’t mean that I approve. But I saw that Battousai had no intentions of harming you.”

“Don’t call him that!” Kaoru protested playfully.

“And understand that if he fails to protect you, I will kill him.”

“Thanks dad,” Kaoru laughed, leaning back and rubbing the tears from her eyes.

“Then,” Aoshi said, standing, “I will take you to his building.”

***

Her fingers were knotted around Aoshi’s waist as they sped through the dark streets on his motorcycle. Kaoru could barely breath with the knot of excitement growing in her stomach. Never in her life had the pelting rain felt so good.

Even as she dismounted from the bike and stepped on the curb in front of his building, she barely felt the downpour. She barely registered Aoshi touching her cheek in farewell and roaring away on his bike. She inhaled deeply, her smile lighting up her brilliant face. Rushing through the apartment doors, she ran to the stairwell.

Kaoru ran, ran back to the one she loved.