Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Bloodline ❯ Freedom Lost ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer - Sadly, I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. It is the sole property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and the many companies who have purchased the rights.

Chapter 5 - Freedom Lost  

Kaoru circled the dojo for the fifth time in the dying light, humming to herself as she tried to force her mind to wrap around the truth of what had happened that afternoon between her and Kenshin. She was still having a hard time believing he'd actually kissed her. Running a finger along her lower lip she could still feel the pressure of his against hers. The fire that had ignited in the pit of her stomach lit again at the memory...or was it a dream? She couldn't tell.

Coming to the front gate again, she cast a wistful look at the closed door, wishing fervently that it would open and Kenshin would be standing there with his rurouni smile plastered on his face. She inwardly groaned, Kami, woman, he's only been gone for a couple of hours! she admonished herself, trying to fight the growing loneliness that was threatening to swallow her. You'd think she couldn't live without him!

The truth is she was tempted to go pack her things and take the next train to Kyoto, but the imposing figure of Sano sitting on the front steps stopped her. She'd already tried to get him to go with her but for some reason he'd flat out refused which confused her. He was always looking for a good fight. He'd also stated that if she tried to go on her own he would simply hunt her down and tie her up in her room until Kenshin came back. The image that had created in her mind had stayed any type of quiet escape she had been planning.

Pivoting on her heels she walked over and sat down beside her self proclaimed guardian. Fixing her eyes on the gate again she asked, "Why did Kenshin go to Kyoto?"

Sano swung his head around seemingly surprised by the question. "He didn't tell you?"

"No." Kaoru muttered without looking at him.

"Well you two were a little busy," Sano noted with a grin. "I can see how it may have slipped his mind."

Kaoru flushed a deep red at the memory. Getting control of her wayward emotions, she speared him with a withering glare, "Shut up, roosterhead, now why did he go?"

Sano shrugged and turned his attention back out to the yard. "Yahiko told me that his wife's grave had been defiled, Aoshi sent the only piece left of her headstone with Misao...it seems one of his enemies wanted to have a little chat."

An icy chill swept through Kaoru and she shivered in the warm late evening air. She knew all about Kenshin and Tomoe, one day when she'd asked about his scar he had told her everything that had happened to the two of them. She still remembered well the pain in his voice when he told her how Tomoe had died by his hand while trying to save him. She'd known then that she would never have a place in his heart, Tomoe held it fast even in death. Kaoru had wanted to be jealous but she couldn't, they had gone through so much together.

A dull ache began to pulse steadily in her chest as the reason why he'd left so quickly became clear. She fought back the tears that threatened to spill over at the thought of the agony he must be going through. Rising silently Kaoru started to make her way to her room when Sano laid a hand on her shoulder.

"He's going to come back Jou-chan, he loves you." He assured her, misunderstanding the unshed tears in her eyes.

Kaoru simply shook her head and pulled away, turning to make her way into the dojo. Kenshin had said she was home but now she knew what she had thought it meant wasn't the truth. Tomoe held his heart and always would, the only thing she would be to him was a friend. Someone that could ease the loneliness, perhaps. The ache intensified as she walked by his empty room. Laying a hand on the door the tears finally won out and began tracing wet paths down her face, turning she padded to her room and sat down on her futon and gave into the shattered hopes she'd harbored in her heart.

Sometime later Kaoru took a deep breath and dragged herself out of her thoughts as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, locking down the pain that continued to stab through her. Resolving to not wallow in her private misery she lit the candle resting on the desk. Her eyes fell to the box nearby, its stubborn lock still held against her prying fingers. She had hoped that they would find the lost key today during their total upheaval of the dojo, but she'd had no such luck. It was starting to get to the point where she wanted to take something and smash the lock but the box was so beautifully done it seemed a shame to destroy it. There was only one place left she hadn't fully checked, the rest of the crates in the storehouse.

Fingering the annoying piece of metal her curiosity and the need to do something to keep herself occupied finally got the best of her. Quickly rising from the floor she grabbed the candle and slipped out into the dark night, making her way over to the storehouse. Determination to find the key that would unlock her family's secret giving her a purpose. Halfway to her destination she was shocked out of her skin when a voice suddenly sounded in the empty yard.

"Hey Jou-chan whatcha doin'?"

Kaoru choked back the screech she nearly set loose and clutched her chest with her free hand in an effort to keep her thundering heart from jumping out of her flesh. Spinning around, she searched the area trying to find the baka who seemed to want to put her in her grave early. The slight glow of his white shirt by the door to the training hall gave him away and she stomped over and whacked him soundly on the chest.

"What are you trying to do kill me?" She growled angrily.

"Ouch Jou-chan, you didn't have to hit me," Sano grumbled, rubbing his abused chest. "Just wanted to know what you were doing?"

Kaoru took a deep breath to settle her nerves and regarded him silently in the light of the candle she still held. The, ironically, innocent expression on his face told her of his sincerity and she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, you just scared me. I'm going to go look for something in the storehouse, want to help?"

"Don't you think it's a little late for that?" he asked, casting a glance at the overcast, darkening sky.

Kaoru shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, so are you going to help me?"

"Can't you wait until Yahiko gets back? He should be back soon, unless Tsubame manages to keep him for the night." He replied his eyebrows wagging up and down.

"Sano..." Kaoru grated menacingly, "didn't I tell you not to tease him about her!"

Sano threw up his hands in mock defense, "Hey, I'm not teasing him now am I?"

A small chuckle escaped Kaoru's lips. "No, I guess you’re not this time."

Sano smirked at that.

"So will you help me," Kaoru asked, pasting on a pleading look with the sweetest smile she could dig up. "There's a lot of stuff to go through?"

Sano crumbled under the look. "Okay, okay, I'll help." he grumbled in defeat as he rose and headed for the storehouse, "But if we don't find what you’re looking for in an hour you’re on your own."

"So what are we looking for?" he asked over his shoulder.

Walking past him, Kaoru opened the door and set the candle in the middle of the floor to illuminate the shelves. "A key, I found a box that used to be my mom's, but it's locked. The key has to be here somewhere and I need it."

"A key in here, you've got to be kidding! " Sano exclaimed in disbelief as he scanned the many shelves stocked full of crates. "This is gonna take more than an hour!"

Kaoru shot him a deadly glare but kept quiet. Grabbing the first crate she set it down and started sifting through its contents. A tiny smile played across her lips when she heard him do the same.

ooooooooooooooooo

Sitting in the tree twenty feet from where his prey and the ex-fighter were, the watcher couldn't believe his luck. What he'd seen so far of this so called fighter made him believe that there wouldn't be much of a challenge in retrieving his boss' prize. A sinister gleam came into his mismatched eyes. But it might be fun to sharpen his blade on the man anyway if he attempted to get in his way.

ooooooooooooooooo

"Hey Jou-chan your hour's up, I'm going to bed, how about you?"

Kaoru looked up from the crate she was currently tearing apart and shook her head. "No, I'm not tired yet...I'll be in soon." They hadn't found the key yet, but she had a feeling it was in here somewhere and she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

Sano dipped his head and replied, "Alright, g'night," before leaving the storehouse and heading towards his room. A huge yawn cracked his jaw as he reached the porch and he was just about to disappear into the dojo for some much needed rest when the feeling of being watched suddenly tingled along the back of his neck. Stopping a foot from the entryway, he casually turned around to search the area, his eyes scanning every shadow in the yard. As far as he could tell it was completely empty but the feeling of being watched continued to tingle across his skin. Moving off the porch he made his way slowly through the yard searching every inch of the grounds as subtly as he could as he made toward the gate. Not finding anyone hiding in the shadows Sano checked the latch on the main door, securing it before he made his way back over to the porch. With a stretch he sat down and leaning against the wall facing the storehouse feigning sleep, and waited for the silent watcher to make an appearance.

Oblivious to the possible intruder outside, Kaoru set the crate she had been going through back on the shelf and scanned the shelves again, the hopelessness of the search sinking into her bones. She was never going to find it in here. With a sigh she lifted the next one and was surprised to see a long wrapped bundle sitting on the shelf behind it. Eyeing it curiously for a moment she suddenly remembered that Saitou had given that to her when he'd told her about her father dying to save the cop's life. A fresh shot of pain stabbed through her heart at the memory. She hadn't even opened the bundle at the time but instead had put it in here to gather dust and hide the memories. A futile attempt at best.

Lifting it down from its resting place on the shelf Kaoru set it down gently on the floor and began peeling the wrappings away. Slowly she uncovered the sheathed katana that her father had only carried when he'd gone out to help the police in some investigation. That day he had left to help Saitou track down a murderer who was killing off highly placed government officials, throwing everyone into a panic. When they had found the murderer Saitou had immediately attacked the assassin but what he and her father hadn't known was that there were actually two of them working together. The second one had come at the cop's unprotected back but was stopped by her father just in time. Yet the action had driven the second assassin to attack her father instead and the man had turned his blade on her father driving the dagger deeply into her father's chest, piercing one of his lungs. It hadn't taken Saitou long to kill the one man but by then it had been too late for her father. The second had made his escape when he'd seen his partner fall to the cop's blade and as far as she knew Saitou still hadn't found that man, although the killings had ceased after that.

With shaking hands Kaoru drew the blade as memories of her father practicing with it surfaced in her mind. Watching the flickering light of the candle dance across its shiny length a single tear escaped her eye and threaded its way down her cheek. A soft glittering from the hilt caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and she moved it so she could see what it was that was catching the light. She inhaled sharply when she saw the silver chain wrapped around the hilt with a small brass key twinkling in the dancing light. Her grief fading back at the find.

For a moment she eyed it confused, why would it be here? And then it fully hit her that she had finally found and she shrugged as excitement welled up in her chest. Quickly unwinding the chain she undid the clasp and put it on before sheathing and rewrapping the katana. Setting the blade it back on the shelf in its previous resting place, she silently promised herself to retrieve it in the morning and place it with the family shrine within the dojo as was proper.

With a smile, she hurriedly grabbed the candle and stepped out of the storehouse to head to her room where the box lay waiting. So lost in her happiness she didn't see the figure drop out of the tree and race towards her. Suddenly Kaoru's instincts screamed in her head to look behind her and she spun around just in time to come face to face with the horrifying set of eyes she'd ever seen. Dropping the candle she dodged out of the way of his reach as a terrified yelp ripped from her throat, landing heavily on her already bruised hip. She bit her lip to stifle the groan of pain that threatened to escape and was just about to shout for Sano when a soft scraping sound drew her attention and she peeked over her shoulder.

"So you finally decided to come out of hiding." Sano said cracking his knuckles loudly as he stepped off the porch. "What took you so long?"

Kaoru sagged in relief and glanced at her attacker as she tried in vain to rise on her numbed leg. She tried not to shiver when she met the mismatched eyes drilling into her, the silent threat in them promising pain and suffering if she so much as moved a muscle.

And then much to her relief the man swung his attention back to Sano and smiled. "This might prove interesting." Then in next moment the man shot forward so fast that his form blurred into a shadow, his now unsheathed katana slashing downwards at Sano's shoulder intent on cleaving the ex-fighter in two.

Sano watched unfazed as the shadow flew towards him and with a smile ducked out of range of the katana then pivoted, putting his hands flat on the ground to steady himself he shot out his leg with all the force he could muster and slammed his foot square in the middle of the shadow. The stunned man grunted loudly and flew backwards from the force of the blow, landing hard on the unforgiving ground.

Sano grinned menacingly. "You can't defeat me with those moves, I've fought Battousai and you are nothing next to him."

The man sneered at the comment, switched the katana to his left hand, and shot forward again.

Sano simply waited for the attack and easily danced back out of the blade's reach as it swept in to gut him. Then, with a roar, he drove his fist into the man's shoulder as hard as he possibly could and grinned wide when he felt bones crack beneath his onslaught. Yet, what he hadn't expected was for the man to keep coming. Forced back a step by the man's momentum Sano was just about to swing his other fist when he saw a second blade in the man's right hand a split second before it bit into his hip. Sano stiffened, a hiss of agony tearing from his throat, as the blade sliced a deep line diagonally up his torso and then the dagger was thrust ruthlessly into his shoulder. His breath caught hard in his throat as the blade sliced though the muscle, his arm spasming painfully before it went limp at his side. By sheer force of will he managed to remain on his feet as the man pushed away from him but then his knees suddenly gave out and he fell to the ground as inky blackness rose up to engulf him, the excruciating pain driving him to slip into the promised relief of oblivion.

Horrified, Kaoru watched with widened eyes as the tall man crumbled to the ground.

"SANO!" she cried out as she pushed to her feet. Gritting her teeth against the pins and needles prickling down her leg she hurried to his side and dropped down beside him. Hauling his upper body into her lap she ignored the wetness soaking into her hakama and started to cry as the pool of blood continued to grow around them, the sharp metallic choking the breath from her lungs. To her surprise, Sano's eyes inched open as her tears dripped onto his face and he attempted to give her a reassuring smile but failed miserably. "Gomen...Jou-chan," he whispered weakly, before his eyes slid closed again, his breathing becoming ragged.

A sudden anger sparked deep in Kaoru's chest and she laid Sano down gently then wiped the tears from her face and slowly stood before she spun on the grinning bastard standing five feet away from her. "Why did you come here? What do you want?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she raced towards him, her fury spurring her reckless movements. Fear completely buried beneath the drive to inflict pain on the one who would harm her friend so.

The man simply stood and watched her come, his grin widening at her carelessness. Just as she came into reach, he snapped out his hand and grabbed her roughly around the neck.

Kaoru knew she had made a mistake as soon as she felt his hand close around her throat. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him raise his katana before he replied in a cold voice, "Just came to collect you and take you home." And then before she could so much as raise a fist he slammed the hilt into her temple. Kaoru stiffened at the sharp pain and inwardly murmured, Gomen...nasai...Kenshin, as she fell into the awaiting darkness.

A triumphant smile split the man's face and he hefted her limp weight onto his uninjured shoulder, then headed for the front gate where the carriage awaited him. He was about three feet from the door when he was stopped dead in his tracks as the gate swung open, a small figure silhouetted in the doorway. Ah, this must be the boy...

True to the man's thoughts, Yahiko stood in the doorway and peered at the shadowed figure standing before him with a body slung over its shoulder. The soft nickering of the horses behind him was the only sound as he took in what he was seeing. It didn't take him long to realize just who it was slung over the figure's shoulder. In one fluid motion he drew his bokken and took up his stance as he growled, "Let her go now!"

The man simply grinned mockingly at him and Yahiko saw red. Shooting forward he raised his bokken as he neared the still figure and slashed downwards but the intruder simply sidestepped out of the way and shot out his arm and grabbed Yahiko's collar, flinging him into the wall surrounding the dojo.

Yahiko winced as he crashed painfully into the solid wood. Rising slowly he ignore the pain screaming down his arm from his injured shoulder and reclaimed his bokken then flew towards the still figure again. However the damage to his shoulder began to go numb his hand and just as he came within range of the shadowed figure it gave out and he dropped the bokken, his forward motion continuing to carry him into the man's reach. The intruder took immediate advantage and snap out his hand again to catch Yahiko around the neck and lifted him off the ground.

"Do you want to die today, kid?" The man asked sarcastically.

Yahiko struggled weakly then paled when the man's insane mismatched eyes locked with his. He had never seen eyes like this before, one was almost completely black and the other was an unholy white with just a hint of a pupil in the center. A shiver passed through him as he tried to break the gaze. Scowling at his weakness he grated out, "Where are you taking her?"

The man grinned and dragged Yahiko closer to his face, "Home."

And with that he threw the boy into the wall again and walked out the gate without a backwards glance. Loading his burden into the carriage, he locked the door and vaulted into the seat. With one last glance to the silent dojo, he set the horses into motion and flew through the empty streets intent on getting his prize to his master as quick as possible.

At the clattering of hooves, Yahiko forced himself off the ground and stumbled to the gate. Glancing both ways he saw the carriage vanish out of sight to the right and fisted his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white. With a scowl he turned to search the dojo for Sano who was suppose to have been on guard tonight. How could the roosterhead let Kaoru be taken like that? Kenshin was going to kill them for sure when he found out!

But all worry of what the redhead would do to them when he heard the news flew out of Yahiko's head when he spied Sano's prone figure lying in a black puddle in the yard where the storehouse stood. Stumbling as fast as his body would let him he hurried over and knelt down beside the fallen man. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the nasty gash cut across his chest and the dagger sticking out of his shoulder. Oh, gods, there was no way Sano could have survived the loss of that much blood! Yet, upon closer inspection, Yahiko noticed Sano's chest rising and falling, his breathing coming in short gasps.

A surge of relief shot violently through his veins as he gazed at the battered man fighting for his life. "Hang on, Sano!" he whispered vehemently to the unconscious man, "I'll be right back with Dr. Genzai and Megumi." Shooting to his feet he raced out of the dojo, the pain that continued to course through his own body nearly forgotten in his desperation. Only two thoughts gave him strength now, the hope he would get back in time to save the man who was like a brother to him and that somehow someone would know how to get Kaoru back.

ooooooooooooooooo

Several miles outside of Tokyo, Kaoru rose slowly out of the darkness, the steady pounding in her head insistently dragging her from unconsciousness. Distantly, she felt a tacky wetness coating her legs as she opened her eyes to complete blackness. A violent jostling slammed her head against the surface she was sprawled across, ripping a groan from her throat as stars danced before her eyes. Slowly sitting up she rubbed her aching head and took note of surroundings. An icy chill swept through her body when she realized she was in a moving carriage that seemed to be speeding along a broken path, heading towards some unknown destination.

Absently laying a hand on her damp leg, she tried to remember what it could be and why it was there, and then all of a sudden the memory of what had happened came crashing viciously through her mind. Despite the darkness she knew that what she was feeling was the stickiness of Sano's blood that had soaked into her hakama. A strangled sob ripped from her throat as tears began rolling down her face. Was he alive? Was he dead?

Another violent jarring of the carriage wrenched her out of her misery and she wiped the wetness from her cheeks and took stock of her own predicament. There was nothing she could do for Sano now, she could only hope that the fighter was strong enough to survive. Testing the door, she wasn't surprised to find it locked. Scooting over to the other side of the carriage she glanced out the window and saw the shadowed forms of trees rushing by and knew that they must be on some long unused path deep in a forest from the jostling every so often. Kaoru scowled, Scowling Kaoru she really only had two options at the moment. First, she could go quietly to wherever the carriage was taking her or she could attempt to break open the door and vanish into the forest. Not really a choice at all because she had no intention of finding out where they were going.

Decision made, Kaoru slid down onto the floor, bracing herself she slammed her bare foot into the door and winced as a stab of pain shot up her leg, however the door hadn't given an inch. With a growl, she slammed it again as hard as she could and this time she felt the door give slightly under the pressure this time. Heartened by the success, she continued to batter the door with her foot feeling the door give a little bit more with each hit.

All of a sudden she found herself thrown to the side as the carriage skidded to a halt. Righting herself slowly, her heart began thundering in her chest when she heard the heavy landing of the one driving the carriage as he jumped out of the seat. Oh kami, this was it. She was done for now. Anxiously waiting for the door to open Kaoru scooted backwards until her back was flush against the wall and tried to keep from passing out as blood hammered through her body. A moment later the door slammed open and she was faced once again with the menacing gaze of the bastard who had tried to kill Sano, his mismatched eyes boring straight through her.

A sadistic grin slid across his face. "I see you’re awake."

Kaoru simply stared at him, fighting the fear he'd set rushing through her veins. And then she saw the opportunity for escape he had so kindly laid before her.

A tiny smile curled Kaoru's lips as she lunged towards him and kicked out her right leg; slamming her heel directly into his almost pure white eye. Almost snarling she drove it as hard as she could, snapping his head back violently. When he fell she flew out of the carriage and ran for all she was worth, heedless of the stones and sticks that were tearing through the soft soles of her feet, leaving a bloody trail behind.

Several yards into the forest she began to think her escape had succeeded when an arm suddenly snaked around her middle stopping her dead in her tracks. A katana swung around and pressed tightly against her neck forcing her head to fall back to avoid having her throat slit. Her panting breaths of desperation and fear seemed to fill the night as she clutched at the arm that held the katana.

"Do that again, bitch, and I will gut you." Her captor growled menacingly directly into her ear, just before the katana moved from her throat and slammed into her head again forcing her into unconsciousness again.

Her limp body dropped to the ground as the man released her, his curses snarling the very air. Sheathing the blade he gingerly pressed fingertips the abused flesh with a hiss, his eye throbbed from the savage violence she had inflicted on it. Finally, with a growl, he picked up her prone body and carried her back to the carriage, wishing fervently that he could just drive his katana through her heart and be done with her.

ooooooooooooooooo

Just as the sun began peeking over the mountains, the carriage reached the compound and the man hauled the horses to a halt before the tunnel before hopping down to retrieve his package. He was sore tempted to fling her over his shoulder again but instead cradled her in his arms and made his way into the mansion heading straight for the throne room. He wanted nothing more than to rid himself of this nuisance as fast as he could.

Coming to the closed door he waited for it to slide open, as soon as it did he made his way directly towards the seated figure on the dais.

"Shishio-sama." He said, in a low voice, bowing the best he could with Kaoru in his arms.

"I see you succeeded in acquiring my angel." Shishio remarked, as he rose and strolled towards them. "Well done, Razan."

Peering closer at the woman in Razan's arms Shishio gave him an inquiring look, red flashing into his eyes as his face darkened. "Why is she covered in blood, I said she was to come to me unharmed?" his asked, voice taut with restrained ire.

"It's not her blood," Razan hastened to assert. "It's the fighter's."

"Ah..." Shishio murmured. "So you were able to have a little fun, but it seems the fighter managed to get a hit in on you too" He noted, eyeing the growing black eye that decorated Razan's face vividly.

Razan scowled viciously and glared at him. "That was her doing...she tried to escape."

A sadistic gleam came into Shishio's eyes as a smile crept across his features. "She is truly a spirited one then. That will make things more... interesting... when I break her." Gazing intently at the girl's sleeping face he pulled the ribbon from her hair, allowing her gold kissed raven locks to cascade free."She is one of Akiko's blood...Aiko has failed."

Shishio turned and made his way back to the dais. "Take her to the room I have had prepared beside mine."

Seating himself again Shishio shifted his eyes to the woman standing in the shadows. "Yumi, follow Razan and clean her up."

Yumi leveled a hard glared on him before she followed Razan out. Once alone in the growing light, a malicious grin formed on Shishio's bloodless lips. "You are mine now, Kamiya Kaoru...and when I am done with you there will be nothing that will be able to take you from me...not even the Hitokiri Battousai."
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