Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Belonging ❯ The Reality For Now ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Belonging

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin and all it's characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for a little while

A/N: Here I am again with another chapter…Okay now this is set in an Alternate Universe so their ages are going to be different…and also there are only 3 levels of high school in Japan, freshman, junior and senior. Freshmen are 16 years old and so on…

Kaoru: 17 but a senior, turning eighteen in the middle of her senior year…

Sanosuke: 19, university student. He just turned nineteen while in his senior year.

Yahiko: about ten or so…

Kenshin: 23, five years older than Kaoru and a University student.

Chapter Two

/Present Day; Ningenkai, Human World/

Kaoru yawned and stretched the door to her room closing with a moderately sounding `bang' behind her as she kicked it close with her foot. She headed for the kitchen, her feet padding down the wooden steps rather loudly early that Saturday Morning. She ran a hand absentmindedly through her hair but the long mass of her raven tresses was mussed up from sleep and her hand got stuck because they were too tangled. Kaoru gave up trying to make some semblance of order with her appearance since no one was going to see her anyway.

"Oi, the monster is awake!" Sanosuke called out from the kitchen.

"Baka!" Kaoru called out grumpily. She turned and entered the kitchen where both Sano was helping himself with some of Kaoru's cereal and Yahiko was preparing pancakes.

Sanosuke grinned noting Kaoru's messy hair, the oversized ratty old T-shirt she wore as a nightshirt and the orange shorts she had on with the hole in the thigh. "Well aren't you a picture of perfection this morning."

She glared at him. "Don't you have your own house? Why are you always inside mine, anyway?"

"What? Can't a friend visit you anymore?" Sanosuke asked feigning hurt.

Kaoru rolled her eyes as she reached inside the cupboard for a glass before grabbing the carton of milk beside Sano. "Whatever…"

"Yahiko, are the pancakes going to be done soon or what?" Sano asked sniffing the air that was starting to smell delicious from the aroma of the pancakes.

Yahiko gritted his teeth. "Just a moment Sanosuke-sama…"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was still asleep. Yahiko was making Sano pancakes? Yahiko was showing respect to Sanosuke-sama? "What he got over your head anyway?" Kaoru asked her younger distant cousin.

Yahiko had come into her life two years ago when he had been eight and she was sixteen. His mother, a distant relative of Kaoru's parents had sent him to her with a letter that stated that he was a headstrong child and he'd been expelled from his school. A new life in a new place was exactly what he needed and that they would pay her, Kaoru, for his lodgings if she took him in and kept an eye on him while he was in Tokyo. They would also provide for him and his monetary needs.

Kaoru had taken one look at the letter and glanced up at the snarling boy standing in front of her and almost shut the door. She was sixteen for goodness sake! She could barely take care of herself even with Dr. Genzai to help her out. What was she going to do with an eight-year-old boy?

But something in Kaoru couldn't tell him to go, something in his defiant eyes had caught her attention, so instead of sending him packing…she opened the door and welcomed him in.

Later she had found out from Dr. Genzai who had done a little digging, that Yahiko's mother had gotten remarried and that his stepfather already had other children and could not be bothered with the boy.

Now two years later, Yahiko was still headstrong but he wasn't querulous any longer.

He'd found a place to belong.

Kaoru tapped him on the head, "Neh Yahiko-chan…what's he got over your head…?" she asked again in a singsong voice just to annoy him.

Sano sniggered. "Yeah Yahiko, tell Kaoru…"

"Let's see…what could Yahiko…hmmm…" Kaoru said as she studied the two boys in her kitchen "Does is have something to do with the Akabeko?" she asked slyly. By the rush of color in Yahiko's face, Kaoru knew immediately that she'd hit home. It wasn't so hard. It was practically general knowledge that Yahiko had a soft spot for the Tsubame, the youngest daughter of the owner of the restaurant Akabeko.

Sano rose from his seat and walked over to Kaoru, imitating Yahiko's voice and mannerisms. "Oh Tsubame my love…"

Kaoru dropped her gaze and feigned a blush, "Y-Yahiko…what are you saying…?"

"Tsubame…only you…I love you. I want to make millions of babies with you…" Sanosuke said trying hard not to crack up.

"A m-million Yahiko? Oh my, your stamina. It must be from practicing all those sword work with your beautiful cousin Kaoru…I'm glad such a lovely lady as Kaoru-sama is going to be my relative once we are married…"

"Don't forget that wonderful Sanosuke. He's my master you know. I've idolized him since the moment I laid eyes on him…"

Yahiko could not take it anymore. "Shut up!" he yelled at the two morons who were supposed to be older than he was but acted like they were about five. "I did NOT say that. Tsubame and I would never say things like that…" he muttered rolling his eyes. Where was his bokken anyway? He needed to bop these two in the head.

Sanosuke and Kaoru could not longer keep up in the charade and dissolved in laughter.

OOOOO

Kenshin smiled, hearing their good-natured banter.

They were so loud.

His family.

A small smile graced his lips as he placed his shoes neatly at the genkan /the entry way in Japanese houses where you leave your shoes/ before stepping inside. His classes had been canceled and as a result. He was back earlier than expected. He headed for the kitchen where they were all gathered, his footsteps naturally light and silent. He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen for a moment though; listening to the insults they were throwing at each other.

"Yeah, well you're a raccoon!" Yahiko fired back in response to being called a midget.

"Ha! Whatever, at least I'm not a freeloader like some people…" Kaoru was saying.

"The raccoon has got you there, monkey boy..."

Kaoru and Yahiko both turned to Sanosuke with blazing eyes.

"Oh yeah chicken head? At least this raccoon takes a bath. When was the last time you even washed you hair Sano? Dirt, grime and oil are the only reason it's standing up off of your head…" Kaoru said.

"Monkey boy! In your face you lazy gorilla! At least I'm actually related to her you baka so I'm entitled to be here! What about you Sano, I don't think you have and blood relations to us so you can just leave…" Yahiko said.

"For your information I do wash my hair and you're the one to speak Kaoru, ever heard of a brush huh? Why didn't you use it before you left your room? And monkey boy, I've been here and known Kaoru even longer than you've been alive so that actually gives me more right…"

"I didn't brush my hair because this is supposed to be my house and damn well look messy if I wan-" Kaoru began but her sentence was cut of by a cheerful…

"Ohayo Kaoru-domo."

Kaoru froze at the sound of that friendly voice. She became aware of her tangled hair, the ratty old oversized T-shirt she used for a nightshirt and the shorts with the hole in the thigh that she was currently wearing. She turned around slowly, not really wanting to meet those violet eyes while she was currently looking like such a mess. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" she screeched.

Kenshin took a step back at the ferocious greeting. "It got cancelled and I headed back home early…"

Oh why couldn't she have showered first and put on a nice dress before she went downstairs? Kaoru wondered to herself. "If you're going to come home earlier than expected, you should have at least had the decency to call and tell me first!" she said as she shoved her plate of pancakes at him and hurried up the stairs to take a quick shower and make herself more presentable to Kenshin's eyes.

"Oro…what just happened there?" Kenshin asked looking a bit dazed.

Yahiko and Sanosuke both rolled their eyes.

"Just come on and eat…she'll be back a little bit later…"

Kenshin shook his head. "Oh that reminds me." He held up a plastic bag marked with an emblem of a restaurant. "I picked something up on my way home. I didn't think Yahiko would be making pancakes today."

"That's okay, the more food the merrier…" Sanosuke said nosing around the bag.

Yahiko slapped his hands away. "Don't eat it all in one go you big oaf…"

OOOOO

"So what were you and Misao talking about?" Soujiro asked as he walked into the sunlit garden where Megumi was selecting some plants she would be using for her potions. He had been on his way to the library when he noticed Misao leaving after apparently having a talk with Megumi.

Megumi turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Oh, I see you've been spying Seta-san."

"No. I was just passing by when I saw her talking to you."

Megumi sighed with mild annoyance. "She told me that it was you who convinced her to talk to me. Really Soujiro…it is not as if I would die were she to deny me her presence."

Soujiro's smile widened a little. "I merely said that you are a very interesting woman, much more than just a pretty face," he said truthfully. Although Megumi was very vain with her looks, she was also very vain with her knowledge of herbal lore. "So what did you discuss?"

"Your little pet is as quite preoccupied with men." Megumi said standing up with her basket in hand. "Or should I say, with one particular man," she drawled. Her hair was caught up lightly in a lace ribbon at the back of her neck and she pulled it loose, shaking her raven tresses, knowing they would arrange themselves perfectly behind her.

Soujiro's eyes lit with laughter. "Is your every movement calculated to tantalize Megumi-san?"

"It is not my fault that I am gifted with such beauty you cannot help but look, my dear Soujiro. I am merely moving, it is your eyes and desires that read meaning into each of my motions," Megumi said smugly.

"Touché." Soujiro said, falling into step beside Megumi as she started back for the house. "So what did little Misao ask you about men? In particular or in general?"

"She asked in a general form. She asked how to entice a man…how to make him want her."

Soujiro's brow rose at the mischievous tone of Megumi's voice. "Specifically, how did she phrase her question?"

"She asked how I in particular, managed to attract so many men."

"And what did you say?"

"That is just naturally the way I am made. I am a vision of loveliness after all. Something she could never hope to be."

"I just bet she loved hearing that."

Megumi laughed heartily, her voice clear as a bell. "She tried so hard to maintain her composure the poor little weasel. I could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears."

Soujiro smiled. He could picture it easily. "And didn't you give her even one advice, no matter how useless? She did get up the nerve to ask you politely, it's the least you could have done."

"Of course Seta-san."

Soujiro was intrigued by Megumi's tone. "Exactly what advice did you give her?"

"Men love the scent of jasmine." Megumi said with a sly smile.

Soujiro's eyes widened in horror as he realized what exactly Megumi had done, "How could you?"

"Relax. He wouldn't kill her. Besides…I think we need a little harmless fun once in a while."

OOOOO

Kenshin looked up when he heard Kaoru come downstairs and smiled. "I waited for you. Would you like to have breakfast now?" he asked walking out of the kitchen to peer at her in the living room.

Kaoru felt her cheeks heat up as she looked into his amethyst eyes. He looked so cute that morning. "Uh…where're Sano and Yahiko?"

"They left already. Don't worry, I saved some food for you."

"That's nice of you…" Kaoru said swallowing audibly, feeling suddenly very nervous.

Kenshin's eyes looked troubled as he looked at her. "Kaoru-domo, is something the matter? I've noticed that…that lately you've been…" he wondered if he should questions her like this…so directly. Her eyes kept darting towards the door as if she wanted to dash out and get away from him.

"Would you like to go outside?" he suggested.

"What about breakfast?"

"That's fine, I already ate," he lied. "I'll just put away your portion so if you get hungry later today…"

Kaoru let out a sigh she hadn't even been aware she was holding. She grinned at him. "Okay. Thanks. So where are you headed off to next?"

"I'm not sure," Kenshin said. "I'll probably do some laundry."

"Well I'll go now. See you later Kenshin," she said cheerfully before her footsteps receded as she went out.

Kenshin closed his eyes and leaned against the door feeling something inside him start to thump.

OOOOO

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tae asked after she finished serving up all the customers in the Akabeko.

Kaoru sighed and slumped down on the table banging her head on the wood. She couldn't believe she'd just bailed on Kenshin. It was just that…it was just because…well why did she? "Ugh, I'm so confused."

"Why are you confused?" Tae asked as she sat down in front of her friend. The restaurant was busy and teeming with the happy din of people partaking in their meal. Tae's parents and Tae her self, took great pride in running their family restaurant. It was a favorite hangout spot as well as restaurant in their community. "Hey…Kaoru…"

Kaoru looked up at Tae her face mournful. "Mou…Tae-chan…I'm having trouble…I can't seem to stay in the same room with Kenshin…"

Kaoru's normally smiling eyes opened in surprise at that news. Every since Kenshin had come into Kaoru's life eight years ago, never once had she ever heard Kaoru become angry enough that she didn't want to be in the same place as Himura. "What did he do Kaoru-chan?" Tae asked.

Kaoru blinked in confusion. "Do?"

"Why yes of course. He must have done something to make you so mad you can't stand to be near him."

Kaoru shook her head vigorously to deny Tae's words. "Oh no Tae! It's not like that. I'm not mad at Kenshin. He hasn't done anything at all to make me mad at him." Kaoru slumped over her the table again, her chin hitting the wood and her eyes looking up at Tae. "It's just that I feel…embarrassed somehow…"

"Embarrassed?"

"I feel funny when I'm near him. Like I don't know what to do with myself…" Kaoru said with a sigh. "It hurts…inside…" Kaoru said touching the middle of her chest. "I hurt here. When I see him I…I hurt…"

"You hurt?"

"Yes," Kaoru said nodding. "I can't explain it properly…it's like I feel too much. Does that make sense?"

Tae smiled. She was only a few years older than Kaoru and had been Kaoru's friend for a long time. She considered herself Kaoru's older sister and had always dispensed advice even when it was unwanted. Kaoru had never really been interested in boys preferring to study Kendo instead. Now it seemed womanhood was finally catching up with the little tomboy. "Kaoru-chan, do you love Kenshin?"

Kaoru frowned. "What are you talking about? Of course I love him."

Tae smiled.

"He's family," Kaoru continued.

Tae shook her head, "Not that way Kaoru. Don't you think that maybe the reason why you can't seem to stay in the same room with him anymore, is because something's changed?"

Kaoru looked at the older girl blankly.

Kaoru, Kaoru, you spent so much time with kenjutsu you can't even tell when you're in love! "Kaoru-chan," Tae began patiently, "When I say `love', I mean the love solely between a man and a woman."

Heat started to rise up to Kaoru's cheeks. "He's older than me…"

Tae cocked her head to the side, "So? You're turning eighteen soon and a few years wouldn't matter." Tae nodded, her fisted left hand hitting her right palm with a decided `smack'. "That's it! Maybe that's what's got you bothered. I mean I always noticed this connection between the two of you. I suppose it didn't matter before because you were so young and he was so much older so you didn't think about it…but now that you're turning eighteen soon…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kaoru tried to scoff but her words came out uncertain. Did she love Kenshin?

As in love, love him?

Tae watched as Kaoru pushed away from the table. "Where are you going?"

"Kenjutsu…I have to practice," the younger girl stuttered before turning to leave, her long dark ponytail swinging behind her.

"Where's Kaoru-chan going Tae-chan?" Tsubame asked, coming over to stand behind her older sister. She had wanted to ask how Yahiko was doing. He hadn't come to visit in a while now, not since he had a fight with Sano out back.

Tae smiled at Tsubame, "I think Kaoru's just growing up…and I say it's about time."

OOOOO

/Flashback/

"I see you're glad to see me," Aoshi commented when he came to visit Kaoru at her home in Reikai and she rushed at him, throwing herself in his arms.

"I've waited and waited!" she said as she hugged him tightly to her, as if afraid to let him go.

He buried his face in her hair, taking in her scent and her essence. "You smell like jasmine all the time."

"It's my favorite flower," Kaoru confessed to him, taking his hand and leading outside to the large gardens of their estate. "Do you see all these beautiful flowers Aoshi? They are all different kinds of jasmines."

"Really…" he said even though he would rather have looked at her instead, he forced his eyes to study the blossoms planted near their feet.

Kaoru nodded. "Yes. Generally, a jasmine flower symbolizes amiability, modesty, grace and elegance. I think I already have the amiability and modesty part…it's the grace and elegance I should be working on…but if I say that I am already modest…is that being immodest and prideful?" Kaoru mulled over this for a moment before she glanced at Aoshi. "What do you think?"

"I think you are perfect. You are graceful and elegant in my eye."

Kaoru rolled her eyes, "That's because you only see me on my good days."

"And why is it so?" Aoshi asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Because I like it when you are with me." Kaoru told him with a grin. "Now listen carefully…" she pointed to each flower and explained what each type of jasmine was and what it symbolized. She picked two blossoms and held it up to him. "Okay, now tell me what I'm trying to say with these flowers," she said, her eyes sparkling.

Aoshi looked down at the flowers she'd presented to him. It was a good thing he had a marvelous memory. "This flower is called the Indian jasmine which means `I Attach Myself To You'. This flower is the white jasmine, which symbolizes cheerfulness and also is meant to convey the message `I desire a return of my affection'." He looked her in the eye. "Why don't you add the Spanish jasmine into this mix?" he suggested with a grin.

Kaoru's cheeks tinted pink. Spanish jasmine meant `sensuality'. "I hope jasmine represent our life together…" she told him.

"I'm sure they will," Aoshi said confidently.

"Except the Carolina jasmine…I don't like it…"

Aoshi smiled and swept her into his arms giving her a kiss that stole her breath away. She was so lovely, inside and out. "And why don't you like it?"

Kaoru's eyes clouded over. "Because I don't like it's meaning. Tomorrow I'm going to ask the gardener to pull it out…"

"Why?"

"Because I don't like it's meaning…" Kaoru said again. "As soon as I become you're Nakama, you'll be taking me to your home, right? I will be there when you wake up and when you fall asleep…I will be able to take better care of you." she smiled, starting to head back to the house with him in tow.

Aoshi glanced at the blue sky and the three suns shining brightly above them.

Reikai was a world of light.

Kaoru came from a world of light.

He wondered if he would be doing the right thing by taking her to Makai to be his wife. Oh his world had its own beauty, but it was a darker brand of beauty. Mysterious and haunting in its own right but so different from the world Kaoru had known.

He stopped and tugged her hand gently, pulling her to him until she was standing with her back to his front, her head turned sideways and her eyes questioning as she met his blue gaze.

"Are you sure Kaoru? Are you sure you would accept being bonded to me for always?" he asked as he lowered his head until the tip of his nose touched hers. "Are you sure you would be my Nakama?"

"Are you having second thoughts?" she asked in a hushed whisper, leaning into his body, her back pressing into his chest. She cocked her head to the side so that her neck was exposed to him. He answered the silent invitation and placed a kiss upon her skin.

"I'm worried about you. You were meant to be in this world. When we become Nakama, you would have to live in my world," he murmured, his lips against her flesh.

"I can still visit Reikai Aoshi. It's not like I will be imprisoned in your world." Kaoru said as one hand lifted to caress Aoshi's hair as his mouth trailed lovely kisses over her skin.

"But it's not the same is it?" he said as he caught one of her slender hands and held it up to the three suns that shone above them. "The sky will never be this bright in Makai; especially not in my lands where my people would rather not have the sun at all. We only have one sun Kaoru…"

"And twin moons," Kaoru reminded him. "I like Makai. It's a beautiful place Aoshi. It is not so different from Reikai and you know as well as I that other people from my world choose to live in yours because they have been entranced by the beauty of your world."

"But there are dangers…"

Kaoru turned so that she faced him. "Even in Reikai there are evil sorcerers and creatures of magic that would do more harm than good. There are dangers everywhere my love. I chose to be in danger with you. I want to make my home with you." She stared at him for a long time but Aoshi was still a little troubled. She rolled her eyes at him and made a face. "No one will dare harm me, the Nakama of the Great Aoshi Shinomori. Shidôsha. Descended from one of the most powerful Vampire Clans. All you'd have to do is stare at them and they'd drop like flies," she teased.

He tucked a stray stand of hair behind her ear. "You're always so disheveled. You're so young Kaoru…" he said. She had only turned fourteen that summer.

"I'm old enough to know I want to be with you forever Nakama…" Kaoru whispered as she stood on tiptoe and gently brushed her lips to his. Her tongue darted out and ran over his upper teeth, feeling the canines extend in reaction to the stimulation. Kaoru soon tasted something tangy and metallic on her lips and realized it was her blood.

Aoshi pulled back sharply when he realized that the sweet intoxicating taste of her mouth was now flavored with her blood. "Kaoru!" he said sharply. His blood was pulsing heavily in reaction to hers and there was nothing more he wanted to do than take her right then and there.

Kaoru sucked her slightly bleeding bottom lip where Aoshi's `teeth' had grazed her. She lowered her eyes like the chastened teenager that she was. "Sorry…I just…I'm only four years younger than you are and you treat me as if I'm…"

Aoshi sighed and gathered her in his arms letting her feel his reaction to her nearness. "I think we're going to have an interesting life together, you and I…" he murmured, his forehead touching hers as he stared deep into her eyes.

She looked up at him, a smile brightening her eyes. "Yes we will my love. I'll see to it…"

"Kimi wa watashi ni totte ichiban taisetsu na mono da, Kaoru." / You are everything to me, Kaoru. /

Kaoru cupped his beautiful face between her hands. "Anata wa watashi no saisho de saigo no aisuru hito desu." / You are my first and last love. /

/End Flashback/

"Okashira?"

Aoshi looked up from the jasmine flower he'd been holding in his hand.

Soujiro waited a good minute before speaking again. "Okina is here my lord and he wishes an audience with you." he said keeping his eyes trained to the ground.

"You knew that jasmines are Kaoru's favorite flowers, did you not?" Aoshi said.

"Yes my lord. Her ladyship has always wished for them to be available in her bath…"

"Did you know that each flower had a meaning?" Aoshi asked, his tone calm and even disinterested.

Soujiro fought the urge to scuttle backwards. He could sense something brewing inside his master. "Yes my lord…"

"Do you know what the jasmine flower means Soujiro?"

"Grace, Amiability, Elegance and Modesty, my lord."

"And what about this jasmine I am holding in my hand. Do you know what type of jasmine this is Soujiro?"

The room was dark but Soujiro's vampire eyes had no trouble seeing the flower in Aoshi's grip. "It's the Carolina jasmine, my lord."

"Kaoru hated this flower. Even though she loved jasmines, she hated this particular type."

Soujiro suppressed a shiver. The room was getting colder as Aoshi's aura affected the shifts of energy.

"Do you know what this flower stands for Soujiro?" Aoshi asked.

"Yes my lord…" Soujiro said keeping his eyes to the ground.

"What does it stand for Soujiro?"

"Separation…"

"Ah…"

Soujiro kept his eye trained to the floor. He did not move even as he felt Aoshi move past him and out the door. When it closed, Soujiro looked up to the flower burned to ashes by Aoshi's aura.

He closed his eyes and prayed that they find Lady Kaoru soon.

OOOOO

/City Morgue/

Makoto grimaced and turned away from the body, covering it up again with the white sheet. "I can't stomach it…"

"Suck it up Shinkou," David Takahashi said as he glared at his partner. "Geeze…women…"

"Excuse me for being human. David did you get a look at that body?" Makoto Shinkou practically growled out at her partner. She could still see the poor man whose neck has been bitten open and whose body had been…well…devoured.

David rolled his eyes. "Of course I got a look at the body, idiot. I was the one who had to take the photos and make the reports since all you can do is vomit up your lunch when we went to pick it up."

Makoto glared at her partner and wished she'd just heeded her mother's wishes and forgone the police academy and become a nurse or a teacher or something else! This was her first case, why couldn't she have gotten something tame like a handbag theft or something?

The door to the morgue was pushed open and a pretty woman came in, wearing a white lab coat.

Why do they wear white anyway? Makoto thought irrelevantly. Wouldn't it get dirty if they blood splashed or squirted out while they were examining the body?

The pretty woman stepped forward, "David, I see you still attract gruesome deaths wherever you go."

David made a face at the woman, "Nice seeing you again too, Ame."

Makoto glanced from David to `Ame'. Hn…there seemed to be a connection there. She made a mental note to harass him about it later if he gave her a hard time.

David and Ame, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

"Ehem."

"Huh?" Makoto blinked

"She asked what your name was, moron." David muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hi, my name is Makoto Shinkou. I just graduated from the Academy…"

"My name is Ame Kirisawa. I'm pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

Ame looked down at the report, "It says here you're the one who found the body?"

Makoto gulped. "Y-yes…"

It had been horrible, dumped behind a dead-end alley. Makoto's mind had been filled with visions of the man trying to run, to escape…and then turning a corner and realizing he had no way out…

"Maybe you should take her outside for a moment, she seems pale." Ame said, glancing at David.

"Makoto needs to get used to the guts and gore or she'll never make it past the first three months." David said.

Ame shrugged and turned away for the moment to put on her gloves and prepare to get to work examining the body. She pulled back the sheet that covered the corpse and started to explain her findings. She pointed to the ripped throat. "You see the jugular vein is extends on either side of our trachea, that's our throat. It's a rather large vein and carries a lot of blood. It follows down to the neck from the chin to the collarbone. The vein leads directly down into the heart and carries all the blood from the brain. Probable cause of death, torn jugular."

"We kind of figured that out on our own," David drawled.

Ame glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Now, in the reports you submitted, you say there was very minimal blood in the scene of the crime. Your theory is that some kind of escaped wild animal attacked this man, correct?"

"Yeah." David said peeling back the sheet further to expose the dead man's entire body. In parts of him, the flesh was torn off and his insides seemed almost empty, like he'd been filleted. "The guy was eaten, plus look at those marks. Those are bite marks, aren't they?"

"That's true…but, if a wild animal had done this, I'd expect to see a lot of blood. Let's say a 200-pound leopard attacked him, this guy is a big guy. He's 6'1 and he weights what, about 160, 180? This man wouldn't have just lain there and let the animal, whatever it is, maul him, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, the reason there wasn't a lot of blood is because this man didn't have any more blood to lose. He was sucked dry my friend. He was dead even before he was eaten…"

"Sucked? As in, no blood at all?" Makoto chocked out in shock.

"It's like when you have a juice in a pack and you stick the straw inside and you drink every last drop until it's folded in on itself. There's still some juice left but not any significant amount…" Ame explained. "Besides, I've never heard a wild animal filet a man before. This guys was eaten methodically, all the juicy parts are gone."

"So what are you saying, that it wasn't an animal who did this?"

"Maybe…"

"So what did you think happened?" David asked, his eyes meeting Ame's gaze.

Ame smiled, "Hey, I'm just the coroner. You're the ones who're supposed to figure it out."

OOOOO

A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews. It's because of those that I keep trying to crank out these chapters as fast as I can! ^_^ please review this chapter as well…thanks. I want to know what you guys think. Oh and tell me if you want Kenshin/Kaoru or Aoshi/Kaoru…this is just the beginning of the fic and I want to see where it goes.

By the way there really is a language to flowers. Roses, jasmines, lilacs, lavender…they all have meaning. If you want to know what a particular flower means, ask me and I'll see if I have it on file. :P please review! Thanks, /hugs/