Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Ai Yai Yai: A Modern Romantic Story ❯ Captive ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: physcho_bitch
“Who are you woman?” He asked quietly, watching her carefully. He saw fear in her eyes now. Shooting forward, he grasped the woman’s unprotected neck, shoving her up against the wall. “Who sent you?” He demanded, glaring at her. His wound was on fire, yet he couldn’t let go of the woman: you never knew what these modern women were capable of. He had underestimated her once before, it would not be smart to do it again. “CIA? NIA? Revengeful politician? Who? Tell me god-damn it!” The woman was shaking now, teardrops forming at the edges of her eyes. Hesitating for a moment, the swordsman loosened him grip on the woman. Then, horrified with himself, grabbed her neck again and found the pressure point that he had used on her that morning. The woman slumped off the chair onto the floor unconscious, carpeting muffling her fall.

Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.27.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 348 | Status: Completed

 
Hello all! Here's the second installment of Ai Yai Yai, I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me, I'll be glad to answer them as long as they don't give away anything (;. Also, I welcome all reviews, compliments and criticism alike to please tell me what you think of it! Read on…
Recap:
After his shirt had come off, Kaoru wrapped as many bandages she could around the wound, which looked like it was made be a knife of some sort. Wondering what had happened to him, Kaoru wrapped the coat around the man's body and heaved him over her shoulder. Times like these make me want a car… Kaoru grimaced as she dragged the comatose man over to her Vespa. Hoping he wouldn't fall off, she placed him hesitantly onto the seat, and then hopped on in front of him, using the sash that went on his coat to tie him in place. Only then did she notice the swords strapped onto the mysterious man's waist. What the hell is with this guy?
Chapter Two
 
Captive
 
Thanks to
Princess-in-Training, Anonymous,
and happyloveygirl for reviewing
-I-
 
Brightness flooded in from all sides, forcing his eyelids open. The light was coming from a window to his right that looked out on an urban neighborhood. Judging from the heat and amount of light, it was about one O'clock in the afternoon. Sitting up, the swordsmen cringed as a sharp pain made its presence clear in his side, forcing him back down again. Where was he? What had happened? Carefully as to not agitate his wound more than he already had, the swordsman felt along his side with a tentative hand. Someone had bandaged his wound. It was roughly done, but it was thorough. He was pleased to see that no blood had soaked the bandage: his wound had stopped bleeding already.
“You really shouldn't move, you know,” A matter-of-fact voice stated nonchalantly. The swordsman silently chastised himself for being so careless as to not notice the young woman sitting in the chair beside his bed. She was a pretty little thing, and he recognized her as the girl he had knocked out earlier in the day. Her eyes were a deep blue color, and at the moment held a thoughtful look. “You took a beating, were you with the others who were jumped outside my studio?” She inquired curiously. The swordsman immediately tensed as his memory came flooding back to him.
“Who are you woman?” He asked quietly, watching her carefully. He saw fear in her eyes now. Shooting forward, he grasped the woman's unprotected neck, shoving her up against the wall. “Who sent you?” He demanded, glaring at her. His wound was on fire, yet he couldn't let go of the woman: you never knew what these modern women were capable of. He had underestimated her once before, it would not be smart to do it again. “CIA? NIA? Revengeful politician? Who? Tell me god-damn it!” The woman was shaking now, teardrops forming at the edges of her eyes. Hesitating for a moment, the swordsman loosened him grip on the woman. Then, horrified with himself, grabbed her neck again and found the pressure point that he had used on her that morning. The woman slumped off the chair onto the floor unconscious, carpeting muffling her fall.
The swordsman fell back against the bed, gasping for breath. Searing pain coming from that damned wound strung its way through his small frame. Wondering why in the world the stupid woman had even brought him back to this place, he gingerly lifted himself up and set out around the house looking for something to tie her up with. After the young woman was securely strapped to the chair with some rope he had found conveniently placed in the cupboard, he began to search through her entire house. She couldn't have been an assassin, or he would've been dead long before, but she could be a spy. Then again, she wasn't a very good one (if she was) because even a spy would be able to avoid being caught so easily.
As he searched through the woman's belongings, a tinge of guilt nagged at him in the back of his mind. I shouldn't be here right now. I'm wasting time, I have things to do that don't involve some stupid woman! As the swordsman placed the last of the bolts on the back of the only picture in the house (things could be easily hidden inside picture frames), he felt a trickle of liquid down the side of his left cheek. Raising his hand to wipe it away, his eyes widened as he took his hand away. It was covered in blood. Rushing to the bathroom, he checked his face in the mirror. The scar that ran the length of his cheek was bleeding again. Placing a hand over his cheek to hide the scar, he glared at his own reflection. “Is this your revenge? Is this the curse that you have placed on me?”
A faint wind whistled through the bathroom window, bringing the scent of white plum and faraway memories best left forgotten.
-II-
Kaoru was still half asleep. The smarting pain in her lower neck had woken her, but she still hadn't mustered up the strength to open her eyes. She wanted to sleep a little longer. She furrowed her brow slightly as a lock of her hair blew across her face. It tickled at her cheeks, causing her to crinkle her delicate nose. She tried to reach up a hand to brush it away, but she couldn't.
The woman's eyes shot open. She was tied to the very chair she had sat in while she had tended her wounded charge. Her wrists were tender and chaffed from where the rope was digging into them mercilessly. She rubbed her fingers over the rope, trying to find the knot that held her in place. Her callused fingers worked deftly, almost as if unattached to the rest of her body. Those calluses had come from her lifelong hobby of kendo. Her father, before he had died, had been an expert in the art of kenjutsu. He himself had taught her all he knew and she was, in her time, one of the best of the women. But Kaoru had stopped competing, or even going to a dojo, after her father had died. She had even tried to stop kendo, but her heart wouldn't let her.
Trying to focus on the task of untying herself, she forced herself to concentrate. The knot was done expertly, and even though she had found it she knew there was no way it was loosening an inch, even for her. Swearing colorfully, she shoved the chair forcefully against the wall. Kaoru was rewarded with a large bang. The chair automatically tipped to one side, and because her hands were unavailable, there was no way to cushion her ungraceful fall. On the way down, she nicked her cheek on the side of her wooden dresser.
Hearing the commotion, the swordsman darted into the room. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he realized what happened. “What are you doing on the ground woman?” He sneered, “You're going to ruin your already ugly face.” She was, in fact, quite attractive, but the swordsman couldn't help the words as they slipped from his lips. He was still sore with this woman and her conniving efforts to betray him to his former employers. She might have been a perfectly normal person, but he needed someone to take his anger out on; a scapegoat. She was that poor soul.
Yet again he underestimated her. Lifting her head slightly to glare at him through strands of hair that were strewn chaotically over her features, she rebuked, “They used to call me the rose of martial arts you know. I can't be that bad looking. But I guess an idiot like you wouldn't be able to notice my beauty if I shoved it halfway up your ass.” Sniffing the swordsman looked away from the girls fiery gaze as he mumbled, “A rose by any other name is still a rose. She may be beautiful but she has thorns…” He wondered if he was even talking about the same woman. Who had he meant that statement for? He made his way to the doorway, willing himself not to look back. A voice cut through the thickening silence between them.
“Are you just going to leave me like this idiot?” The woman asked, agitation creeping its way into her voice. Making up his mind, the swordsman turned, trying not to look his captive in the eyes. He felt he shiver as he reached across her to pull the chair up again. He couldn't help himself, slowly, hands still grasping both sides of the chair; he lifted his eyes to meet those of the woman's. She stared back coldly at him, though he could sense other emotions behind her steely gaze.
He tore his eyes away from hers and busied himself with untying the ropes that bound her wrists behind the chair. “W-what are you doing you idiot?” She stammered, surprised at the sudden change.
“Untying you, what do you think woman?” He asked sarcastically, though the feeling was not in his voice. There was silence for a while as the swordsman untied the woman's bonds, but it was not an uncomfortable silence. Each was thinking their own thoughts.
The woman stated quietly, as though not to startle her captor, “My name is Kaoru,” then she added, “You can stop calling me `woman' now, you can just call me by my real name.” The man's eyes widened slightly, though Kaoru did not see because he was still untying the knot. He cleared his throat and said just as quietly, “And my name is Kenshin, so you can stop calling me `idiot'.” Kaoru blushed a little at that and clamped her mouth shut.
Kaoru slumped down in the chair, happy to be free of her bonds. Rubbing her wrists to get the blood flowing back to her hands she wondered who this `Kenshin' was. As if reading her thoughts he commented, “It's none of your business. I shouldn't have gotten you involved, since now I'm going to have to make sure you don't tell.” Kaoru furrowed her brow, confused as ever. “I don't understand, did I do something wrong?” she asked.
The man sighed and shifted his weight off of his wound. As he did so, more of the bandage was exposed and Kaoru noticed blood seeping through the white strips. Instinctively she reached out to undo them, but Kenshin started back from her. She looked down, a lump forming in her throat. When she willed herself to raise her eyes, Kenshin had begun to undo the bandages himself. She felt her cheeks flush as he shrugged off the loose white shirt he had been wearing over the bandages. He either didn't seem to notice, or didn't care.
Why was she reacting so strangely to him? She hadn't felt this way when she had bandaged his wounds back at the studio. Why now? She noticed the man struggling with her knot. She smiled slightly, thinking of the irony. We've both tied each other up… With a hesitant hand, she brushed his aside and set to work on the bandage herself, feeling the blush grow deeper.
Getting up, she made her way to the bathroom to get new bandages and disinfectant. The tile floor was wet under her bare feet and she had to steady herself against a towel rack. Looking down, she gasped as she took in the floor. The sink and the tiles underneath it were spattered with blood. Breathing heavily, she backed out of the bathroom, tracking bloody footsteps across the white carpet. About to enter her room again, she stopped for a moment to watch the swordsman. He had made his way over to her mirror, and she could see his reflection trace the scar gingerly with his fingers. His eyes were glazed, as if he were somewhere else. Kaoru couldn't stifle the quick intake of breath as a trickle of blood ran down the man's face from the scar. Blinking, his eyes became clear. “You don't have to sneak around, I know you're there.”
Hiding her surprise under agitation she asked, “Well, can you explain the mess in the bathroom. I can only assume it was your doing.” He shrugged his shoulders and walked from the room, holding the soiled bandage against his wound. As he passed Kaoru, he brushed her shoulder slightly. The touch of his skin against her own sent tingles up her spine. “I guess I'll go get the bandages myself then?” He asked sarcastically.
“I guess you should,” She retorted, “Since you know my house so well by now.” Kaoru watched him go, admiring the sinewy muscles sculpting his bare back and puzzling over why she talked so callously to this man in particular. He set her off balance in some way. His danger and mysteriousness bothered her, and yet drew her towards him. He was strong-she knew that much already-but she also noticed an array of scars speckling his skin. What had she done to get caught up in such a mess? Unconsciously, she traced the outline of an X across her left cheek.
 
Glossary:
Kenjutsu - Japanese sword arts
 
Author Notes
In response to a few questions…
Is Kenshin referring to Kaoru when he says “please don't let them kill her”? Sorry, can't give that away just yet! -ducks flying object- sorry guys, you'll just have to keep reading!
 
Will it have a happy ending? I'm not quite sure yet, it all depends on where the story takes me (;

Is this a sort of reincarnation story? Well, not really, it just uses the characters from a historical fiction and puts them in modern day… but then again, it could be considered reincarnation -attempts witty look-.

In the title, does the "Yai Yai" mean anything, or is it just part of the 'joke'? Yes, Yai Yai is just part of the joke, I am, unfortunately, not that witty. T____T
 
Until next time, Please keep reading and reviewing!!