Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Mine ❯ Life Debts ( Chapter 6 )

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

Disclaimer - I don't own RK

I just want to take the time to say thank you to all of you have reviewed this fic. I know I've been lax in letting you know but I really do appreciate every one I get. So Thank You.


Chapter 6 - Life Debts

Enishi sifted through the documents littering the desk trying to make some sense of the paperwork that had collected during his absence. Picking out one of the letters he shuffled the rest together and pushed them aside. Scanning the contents of the one he'd held out he frowned, it seemed there were some problems with his employees at one of the clubs Shishio oversaw for him. He was slightly surprised to find the ones in question still alive, normally Shishio would kill them first and ask questions later but for some reason he'd left them alive to face him instead.

Sighing he leaned back and closed his eyes. He really didn't want to deal with a bunch of miscreants right now. Shishio should have just killed them and been done with it. He had bigger fish to fry than a bunch of lowlifes who thought they could skim off the top of the club's profits.

Reaching into the desk drawer he withdrew the yellow envelope and slid out the picture of the new thorn in his side. This red headed man was proving to be a bigger problem than he'd originally thought. The more he thought of the man coming into contact with his Kaoru the more his blood boiled, there was more to this chance encounter than he could immediately see and it bugged him that he couldn't figure out what it was.

His fist tightened suddenly wrinkling the glossy paper. What was it about this man that the mere thought of him coming near Kaoru caused an almost uncontainable anger to ignite in his veins? Narrowing his eyes he glared at the face staring out at him. Who was this man? How did he know Kaoru? He wanted answers to those questions and he wanted them Now!

Shaking his head he fought to quiet the nearly overpowering urge to hunt the man down and put a bullet in his head. Maybe he should just have Gein take him out, it really wasn't worth his time to hunt down information about this mysterious man....once he was dead it really didn't matter anymore anyway.

A quiet knock on the door broke through the murderous thoughts and he glanced up from the photograph. "What?"

Hei Shin slid the door open and stepped into the office. Sketching a shaky bow he avoided the hard look in Enishi's eyes, "We were unable to retrieve Myojin-san. Himura was at the dojo."

At the news Enishi slid the photo back into the envelope and leaned forward focusing his undivided attention on the man in front of his desk, "Was he now? And why didn't you bring him to me?"

Hei Shin cleared his throat. He really didn't want to be the one to tell Enishi that he'd met his match. Hesitating he took a step back from the piercing turquoise gaze leveled on him. "He will not be so easy to persuade."

"Is that so" Enishi purred sitting back with a smile that would stop even the most hardened of hearts. "Did he do that?" he asked eyeing the clear finger bruises on the man's neck.

Hei Shin nodded unconsciously rubbing the abused flesh.

"And how did he manage that?"

Hei Shin just shook his head, he couldn't figure that out either. "I don't know. One minute he was across the room and the next he had me pinned against the wall. But that wasn't the strangest thing..." shaking his head again he tried to push the image out of his mind, "...when he pinned me against the wall his eyes were no longer violet... they were gold."

Enishi sat up at the admission his body suddenly rigid, "They what?"

"They were gold."

Enishi just stared at him. It couldn't be the same person could it? "Does he have a cross shaped scar on his cheek?" he asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

Hei Shin took a step back from the instantly icy look in Enishi's eyes. Swallowing he grimaced as his stomach curled into a knot, he hadn't told him everything yet and Enishi looked about ready to kill. Clearing his throat he added, "There's one more thing, he said he would have what was his this time and you wouldn't be able to stop him."

Enishi closed his eyes and took a deep breath fighting against the sudden surge of unbridled rage threatening to swallow him. Did this man actually think he could take Kaoru away from him? A malicious smirk curled the corner of his lip, not in this lifetime.

Finally getting ahold of himself he glanced at Hei Shin and smiled, "Go to the clinic and send Gein here, you stay there until I come collect Kaoru this afternoon."

Hei Shin bowed and back stepped out of the room quickly. Sliding the door closed he let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Himura was a dead man, Enishi didn't call out Gein unless he wanted someone wiped completely from the face of the earth. The man didn't stand a chance.

oooooooooooooooooo

Sano shuffled tiredly down the hallway and unlocked the door to Kaoru's apartment. Slipping inside he flung the door closed. How could it be so damn difficult to get an apartment in this damn complex? Kicking off his shoes he wandered into the livingroom and flopped down on the sofa, flinging an arm over his eyes he sighed. Unfortunately Aoshi wasn't in town so he'd had to track down the rental agency that owned the building on his own and then when he'd finally found their office he'd had to deal with a flighty middle aged woman who couldn't seem to keep a single thought in her head for more than thirty seconds. It'd seemed like hours had past before he'd finally managed to get the key for an apartment two floors down. It wasn't as close as he would have liked but at least he was back in Tokyo.

Surprising enough Katsu hadn't given him a hard time about moving back, even after he'd ditched him to come to the opening. But then again Katsu knew better than to come between him and Kaoru. Nothing stopped him when she needed him, although most of the time she would argue when he tried to help he knew she appreciated it. Rubbing his forehead he sighed. This time she might not appreciate it though, for some reason she wanted to be with that lowlife Enishi. It was going to take a lot to get her to break it off with him.

A sudden loud grumbling from the vicinity of his stomach pulled him from his thoughts reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since early this morning. Pushing off the sofa he headed into the kitchen and stopped, well he knew there was nothing in the fridge. He'd been surprised to see eggs in there this morning and the really shocking thing was that they hadn't been outdated. That was one of the great mysteries about Kaoru...what did she eat. Every time he visited her fridge was empty, she had to eat something.

Eyeing the cupboards he flipped the closest one open and scowled. The only things in it were spices, flour, rice and a rather sick looking loaf of bread. Wrinkling his nose at the sight he flung it closed, maybe it would be safer to go bug Tae for some food. No that wasn't a good idea, she'd probably want him to pay up his tab and after three years it would more than likely take what little money he had. Steeling himself he opened the next cupboard, he grinned when he spied two cups of ramen. Figures she'd have that, now he was going to have to bust her about not eating right.

Grabbing the instant meal he filled the teapot and set it to heating as he mentally went over his to do list. So far he'd gotten the key from Misao, called Katsu and managed to get an apartment. That only left one more thing to do. Find out who the hell that man was next door. Ever since their meeting in the hallway he hadn't been able to shake the feeling that he knew him somehow. Not to mention he was sure he was the same person Kaoru had asked him about. But what was strange was that Kaoru had asked about an amber eyed man like the one in the vision not a violet eyed one like her new neighbor. That was something he couldn't figure out, how could they both know someone with golden eyes without actually ever meeting them? And why had that red headed man's eyes been gold in the vision but violet in real life?

Shaking his head as the teapot whistled he shut it off and poured the hot water over the noodles. It was all too strange, it was time to find out the answers. Wandering back out into the livingroom he settled down onto the sofa and dug in. Glancing at the clock he frowned, it was only three thirty the man next door might not even be home but he had to do it before Kaoru got home. It would be kind of hard to explain why he all of a sudden had an interest in her new neighbor. Making up his mind he slurped up the last of the noodles and headed back into the kitchen, chucking the empty cup into the trash he headed for the door.

It was now or never, he needed to know the truth.

oooooooooooooooooo
Kenshin entered the apartment complex with a heavy heart, his legs aching from the walk he'd taken in an attempt to quiet the beast threatening to tear him apart. The aimless wandering had done nothing to temper the rage still eddying just below the surface. He'd managed to settle down some after the intense workout at the dojo but that had only lasted for a short while. Every time he thought of Enishi touching Kaoru the control he'd managed to achieve would shatter, his blood instantly boiling. He didn't deserve to be near her, he didn't deserve to breathe the same air as she did.

Slipping into the elevator he leaned heavily against the wall and stared at the floor. If he'd only found her sooner he may been able to stop something like this, but for some reason fate had been against him from the very beginning. The twist in the gift had been the fact that he'd needed an ounce of her blood to make it work completely, that one minor detail had kept him from creating a complete bond between them. Shaking his head he sighed, by the time he'd met the old man Kaoru had already been buried for a month so he hadn't been able to get the amount of blood he'd needed. All he'd had was the blood staining his gi. He'd feared that that little bit wouldn't be enough to form the bond but thankfully it had.

Smiling to himself he closed his eyes and let his mind wander back to the day twenty five years ago when he'd felt her birth. It had happened so fast that he hadn't been completely sure that's what it was. That day he'd been taking a rest on a sandy beach in Italy the overcast sky casting a pall over the countryside, the continuous crash of the waves against the shore lulling him into a much needed nap. He'd been on the verge of sleep when all of a sudden he'd been engulfed in what he could only explain as a ray of sunlight, although the sun hadn't been seen at all that day. He could still feel the intense heat playing across his bare chest, the feeling of fulfillment sweeping through his body. It had only lasted a second but ever pore of his body would forever tingle from the sensation.

At first he'd tried to focus his attention on the feeling to see if he could track her through it but all that remained was the sense of completeness. From then on the hunt had been on to find her. He'd been everywhere from small remote towns in the highlands of Scotland to the bustling cities of New York, Sydney and Hong Kong. He'd started to lose hope after twenty years had passed. The world was so big that he'd been sure it would be an impossible task to find her amidst the billions of people roaming the earth. Who would have thought she would be right here under his nose. He couldn't even count the amount of times he'd come to Tokyo to take a rest before setting out again and she'd been here the whole time.

The elevator came to a stop and Kenshin pushed off the wall. It didn't matter anymore that she'd been here all along, what mattered was that he'd made a huge mistake and now he had to find a way to fix it. Unfortunately he had no idea how he was going to do that but he had to. He hadn't waited all these years to let her slip through his fingers again and there was no way in hell he was going to let her stay with Enishi. He would rather she was still dead than with that man.

Fighting against the growing surge of anger bubbling up in his chest he fisted his hand and stepped from the elevator. Glancing up he came to a dead stop as a small smile tickled the corner of his lips, his anger cooling instantly. Sano stood staring at him, his fist poised to knock on his door. It seemed his old friend did have an interest in him.

Heading down the hall his smile widened as he watched Sano's eyes narrow in suspicion. Stopping a few feet away he just stared at his old friend waiting to see what he would say.

Sano scowled and dropped his hand. His eyes narrowed even more as a vision of this man kneeling before an old wash basin flickered before his eyes. Shoving the image out of his mind he growled, "Who the hell are you?"

Shaking his head Kenshin's smile widened, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Taking a step towards Sano he asked, "Would you like to come in?"

Sano nodded and moved away from the door to allow the small man access to his apartment. Staring at the back of the redhead's head his brows furrowed. What the hell was going on? This time he'd looked exactly as he did now even down to the violet eyes. Following him in he eyed the small man suspiciously, something very strange was going on. The feeling that he should know this man continued to grow as he took off his shoes and followed him into the livingroom.

"Please forgive the mess, I just finished moving in yesterday and I haven't had a chance to finish unpacking." The small man tossed over his shoulder as he shrugged out of his jacket and headed into his bedroom.

Sano just nodded and scanned the room. There really wasn't all that many boxes still packed, what there was though was a room that would have fit better in a museum. Every open space he could see held some type of knick knack from what looked like every country in the world. He could tell that many were from India, Egypt, and a couple even looked to be from Greece. But that isn't what caught his attention, what did was the wall of weapons off to his left. Walking slowly across the room he stopped and just stared at the assortment of daggers, katanas, battle axes and long swords. This collection would rival even the most avid of collectors, two he could tell were very old their sheaths dulled and worn by age. One even had an old rust colored spot on it that he had sneaking suspicion was dried blood. The rest of the blades decorating the wall were just shiny replicas of ancient weapons.

Hesitantly he reached out a hand towards the oldest looking katana but stopped just before coming into contact with the well worn sheath. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to touch something that was obviously cherished.

Kenshin watched from the shadows of his room as Sano reached out for his sakabatou. Narrowing his eyes he wondered if the part about memories being awakened would hold true with anyone besides Kaoru. It would certainly make things alot easier between them if Sano remembered instead of him trying to explain.

Shrugging he decided to give it a test. Stepping into the room he spoke up, "That one's been in my family for over a hundred years, you can take it down if you'd like."

Sano started and spun around, his eyes narrowed at the knowing look in the redheaded man's eyes. "Who exactly are you?"

Kenshin just smiled, maybe his name would do it instead. Bowing slightly he never took his eyes off Sano, "My name is Himura Kenshin." Watching his friend closely he waited for some kind of reaction. He shrugged when all Sano did was stare at him, well that didn't work.

"Sa-"

"Sagara Sanosuke I know." Ignoring the shocked look on Sano's face he turned towards the kitchen, "Would you like something to drink?"

Sano just stared at him, how the hell did he know his name? Scowling he gave Kenshin a small nod, this was starting to get creepy. Turning his attention back to the wall of weapons he eyed the blade he'd been reaching for earlier. Making up his mind he gently lifted the blade from the wall and slowly slid it out of the sheath.

He inhaled sharply as the blade came into view, it wasn't a katana it was a sakabatou.

Watching the sunlight play over the reverse-bladed sword Sano's world suddenly shifted sideways and then the floodgate holding back his previous life burst open, the past making an all out assault on his mind. The blade fell from his numb fingers as thousands of images flashed before his eyes. Images of a childhood he didn't remember yet deep in his soul he knew had happened. Of he and Katsu as children standing and fighting beside a tall man with a red bandana wrapped around his forehead. Without warning the man's name slammed into his head and his breath caught as an overwhelming feeling of sadness ripped through his body... Sagara Souzou, Captain of the Sekihoutai...his captain. His throat clenched as the image of Captain Sagara's head on display crashed in his mind, the cheer's of the people around him ringing hollowly in his ears.

Trying to stop the pain the memories invoked Sano clutched his head as more images ruthlessly ripped through his mind. Memories of his aimless wandering, the seemingly unending search to find the next fight. Of the battle with Kenshin, the crack of steel suddenly resounding in his ears as the small man split his zanbattou in half. Of teasing Kaoru her shrieks following him as he bolted from the dojo. The battle with Saitou. Learning Futae no Kiwami with Anji. Kenshin battling Shishio. The scrape of steel against stone echoing in his mind as Shishio lit the blade and drove it through his shoulder. The destruction of the Akebeko. The battles with Enishi's henchmen. So many images crashed into his mind that it took everything he had to remain standing.

His knees buckled as the next one hit him square in the chest. Kaoru, pinned to a wall with a blade driven through her chest and a bloody cross shaped scar carved into her cheek. Kenshin kneeling before her broken form in a battered heap. Hitting the floor Sano caught himself from falling forward and closed his eyes trying to stop the onslaught, but it wasn’t to be as more images crashed through his mind. Images of Kaoru’s funeral, his visit to his family, Kenshin sitting broken in Rakinmura, the bloody battle between Kenshin and Enishi. And then one memory locked him as his own voice suddenly filled his ears,

"What are you doing Kenshin?" he asked eyeing the bowl of water with a gi soaking in it sitting before his friend.

Kenshin looked up and smiled, "I'm forming a bond so I will know when Kaoru is reborn." he answered in a quiet voice before fixing his attention once again on wringing the gi clear of water.

Sano quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean when she's reborn, how can you do that?"

"With this" the small man said holding up a small bag of what looked to be red tinged powder.

"What is that?"

"A gift given to me to allow me the chance to wait for Kaoru to be reborn and fix the mistakes I made."

Sano just stared at him as if he was insane, "Are you telling me that that will let you live.....forever?"

Kenshin nodded and dumped the contents of the bag into the red tinged water. Sano heard him whisper, "I hope it's enough" before he picked up the bowl and drank the contents down in one gulp. And then something strange happened, for a split second Kenshin glowed and then it was gone.

When he'd emptied the bowl of every last drop Kenshin set it down and looked up at him with the most intense gaze he'd ever seen, "I need you to do me a favor. If you find Kaoru before I do watch out for her for me. I will come for her I promise you that."

Sano continued to stare at him confused, "But how will I find her?"

Kenshin shrugged, "I don't know. I don't even know if you will but if you do watch out for her for me." At that the small man rose from the ground and headed for the dojo gate.

"Where are you going?"

Kenshin stopped and glanced over his shoulder, "I can no longer stay here. I've given the dojo to Yahiko, he and his family will run it for me while I watch and wait for Kaoru to return."

And with that the small man walked out the gate never to be seen again by those he'd once called friends.

Sano's chest constricted as the memory finally let him loose. The full truth of everything he'd just seen hit him square between the eyes as the rest of the memories of a life he now knew filtered into his mind and sorted themselves out, settling quietly among the memories of this life.

Getting control of himself he took a deep breath and leaned back resting on his heels. Now he knew why he hated Enishi so much and who this mysterious man was. His gut twisted at the thought of Kaoru being engaged to the man who had ruthlessly stolen her life so long ago.

"I tried Kenshin, I tried." he whispered to himself as he picked up the sakabatou and sheathed the blade. Standing, he set it back in its place among the rest and glanced over his shoulder. He scowled at Kenshin who stood staring at him with a knowing smile on his lips.

Turning around he leveled a hard glare on his old friend, "What the hell took you so long?"

oooooooooooooooooo

Kaoru settled into one of the cushiony chairs in the waiting room and rotated her ankles trying to alleviate the pain throbbing dully in her legs. Heaving a sigh she stretched her arms straight out and grimaced when the bones in her back made a sickening pop. It had been a hellishly long day even though it was only four in the afternoon. It most likely only felt that way because she'd been on pins and needles all day waiting for Enishi to show up. Surprising enough he never did come to the clinic, she was partly relieved by that but still a little anxious, there was no way Gein hadn't told him what had happened. She was sure the entire month Enishi had been gone he'd received daily reports of everything she'd done right down to what time she'd gone to bed, why would it stop now?

"I can't believe we're actually going to have an early night."

Glancing up at Megumi she smiled, "It’s nice isn't it." Pushing out of the chair she stretched one last time and shrugged on her jacket, "I'm ready to go home, maybe Sano and I can go out to eat. I haven't been able to do that since Enishi left."

Megumi frowned and leveled a hard look on Kaoru, "Do me a favor and push him off a bridge somewhere. I really don't want to see him tomorrow."

Kaoru chuckled and shook her head. Sano might be in over his head if he decided to press his luck with Megumi. He may not make it back to Okinawa, at least not in one piece.

"So what does Enishi think of Sano staying with you?"

Kaoru's mirth vanished as a great weight settled on her shoulders, sighing she headed towards the door, "You already know what he thinks." Pushing the door open she stopped just before stepping out and cast an inquiring look over her shoulder, "Sure you don't want me to come in tomorrow?"

Megumi smiled and shook her head, "No I'll see you tomorrow night." Eyeing the slump of her friend’s shoulders and the tinge of sadness darkening her features she added, "You know Kaoru if you're not happy with Enishi you can leave him, there are plenty of men out there."

Kaoru shook her head, "It's not that easy Megumi. I owe him, I can't just leave him." Ignoring the worried look on Megumi's face she stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine before anymore could be said. Neither Megumi nor Sano understood that if it hadn't been for Enishi suddenly stepping into her life and paying off her family's debt when her parents had died she would more than likely be penniless and living on the streets by now.

"You can't leave who?"

Startled by the unexpected voice Kaoru snapped her head around. The blood drained from her cheeks as her eyes clashed with the icy gaze leveled on her, "E..Enishi!"

Flinching away from the hard look she fought down the knot of fear tightening in her gut. How much did he hear? By the looks of it he'd heard it all. Ignoring the sinking feeling that she was in serious trouble she dug up the best smile she could and forced herself to take a step towards him, "What are you doing here?"

Eyeing her ashen face Enishi scowled at the fake smile decorating her face. Taking the last couple of steps separating them he grabbed her hand, "What happened to your hand?"

Kaoru hissed as his hand wrapped around her burned one, glancing up she shied away from the knowing look in his eyes. He already knew. Swallowing she tried to pull her hand away. "I bumped into someone this morning and spilled my tea all over." She grimaced as his hold tightened, "It's nothing really."

"Is that so? And who was it you bumped into?" he purred, the undisguised malevolence in his voice sending a shiver of dread down her spine. Meeting his eyes she tried to swallow around the lump in her throat. He already knew who it was she could see the truth reflecting in his turquoise gaze. He probably knew more than she did about this mysterious man.

"I...I really don't know who he was" she lied. It really wasn't a complete lie but she couldn't tell him the truth, if she did who knows what he'd do.

Enishi narrowed his eyes and looked deep into hers for some hint that she was lying. Not seeing anything but confusion he released her hand and spun on his heel heading towards the car. Maybe she really didn't know who he was, but how could he know her and she not know him. Glancing over his shoulder to see if she was following he smirked. It really didn't matter if she knew him or not, tonight he was a dead man.

Kaoru followed behind Enishi, a growing sense of unease slowing her footsteps. Something was different about him today. She hadn't missed the look in his eyes when he'd glanced over his shoulder at her, it was almost feral. This was a whole lot worse than the time he'd caught her having lunch with Shinji and this time she didn't even know the red headed man.

Getting control of herself she slipped into the car and tucked herself securely in the seat. He also hadn't answered why he'd come to pick her up, he hadn't done that for nearly a year now. Something strange was definitely going on.

Glancing at him as he started the car and pulled out in traffic she asked, "Why did you come to pick me up?"

"We have reservations for dinner at Kyushu with Shishio Makoto."

"Oh" she muttered trying to suppress the shiver of disgust that raced through her body at the name. That man was one she would rather not come into contact with if she could at all help it. She'd only met him twice but those two times had been enough for her. He was the one who oversaw Enishi's two clubs in the Roppongi district and to put it bluntly he gave her the creeps. It wasn't just the bandages covering him from head to toe that unnerved her, it was also his hard black eyes that seemed to burn with an inner fire devouring everyone he look at. Shivering again she eyed Enishi, "What do you need me to go for? Sano's at home waiting for me."

Enishi's hands tightened on the wheel, "Sagara can go without you for one night. Yumi will be attending the dinner so your presence is required."

Kaoru sighed and gave up, if that was the case then there was no way he was going to let her off the hook. Snuggling into the seat she tried one last thing to get out of dinner, "I'm not dressed for dinner at Kyushu."

Enishi smirked, he knew she'd try that. "We will be stopping by my apartment to change."

"Oh...ok."

Heaving another sigh Kaoru shifted her attention out the window and watched the people bustling along the sidewalk. Something didn't quite ring true about him picking her up for dinner. They’d often gone to some business dinner but rarely did he come to the clinic to collect her. Usually he would call her to let her know and then pick her up at home. Shaking her head she tried to tamp down the feeling that something just wasn't right about this whole thing.

And on top of everything else she couldn't seem to rid her mind of the man she'd bumped into on the sidewalk. His face had continuously popped into her mind all day no matter how hard she tried to forget him. What really scared her was that each time it did an overpowering need to see him again would flood through her body. She would have to consciously stop herself from running out of the clinic to find him.

Hesitantly touching her arm she marveled at the fact that she could still feel his hand on her arm. It was almost as if his hand had burned into her flesh even though he hadn't actually touched her skin. Closing her eyes against the glare of the sun she fought down the sudden urge to jump from the car and find him. Kami what the hell was wrong with her!

Blindly reaching out she sought and found Enishi's hand. She smiled when his fingers wrapped around hers. The feel of his hand wasn't the same but it was enough to chase the redheaded man out of her head.

With a sigh she snuggled deeper into the seat and peeked at Enishi out of the corner of her eye. He was the one she belonged with and nothing was going to change that, not even the flesh and blood figment of her imagination.

oooooooooooooooooo

Well that was an extremely fun chapter to write! I hope your mind didn't stumble to much at the drastic change between the Kenshin/Sano part and the Kaoru/Enishi part. I did seriously toy with the idea of cutting it there but decided to leave it whole. It just seemed to fit.

Please review and let me know what you think.