Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Happiness In Slavery ❯ chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

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

Date Started: July 26, 2005 9:59 PM JST

Alright… tomorrow my host father is taking their laptop to be looked at. It definitely has a virus… but we can't run the virus scan… poop. So, that's where it is going. Sorry about chapter 2 taking forever to be out. I believe that when this chapter is finished everything will be fixed and no more internet problems.

Kyoto is August 22 - 24, so yay there. Umm…. enjoy this chapter, and any reviews I receive for chapter 2 will be thanked at the bottom, because, chapter 2 isn't up yet, sadly, cause its been ready to be up since… last week?? Please enjoy the next installation of Happiness in Slavery

Happiness in Slavery

Rating: Older Teens

Chapter 3

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters in shape or form. I do own this plot and any changes I make to characters, as long as its legal, and this includes Himitsu damnit! You steal you die.

End of Chapter 2

She sat up fast, breathing hard, sweating profusely. She had not dreamt anything about her past in so long, several years actually. Was it possible that it had only been five years since that horrible day? And here she was, back in a place she had sworn to never enter again. She should have not allowed Hiko to relocate her to Kyoto. Yet, how was she supposed to know that the new headquarters were going to be in her once treasured home?

She had been so happy as the girl named Kaoru. Since she had become what she was, there had been no chance for happiness. She was a slave to her work, to her heart, to her promise and secrets. As Kaoru, she may have at one time, been able to allow it. As Himitsu, she would not allow happiness, she would not risk the chance.

The girl awoke for the second time that night, this time though, naturally. The room was pitch black, light lacking due to no windows. However, she knew it was morning, the sounds of people moving about, dishes clanging in preparation for breakfast, yes, those things made it quite obvious. Yet, Himitsu paid those no heed. The way the air felt around her, the coolness of it, the distant chirpings of birds, those are what made her know the time of the day. Human beings were not trustworthy, for humans were intelligent. She trusted no one, and if any one dared to trust her… she didn't know what she would do about that.

The memories of her dream from earlier came to her mind. The dreams. She always remembered every single moment of them, quite opposite of most. She cursed the dreams, but they were the price to pay for what she did. Sitting up, she felt to her right and cracked the door open slightly, just enough to allow a little bit of light into the room. Then her hard eyes rested upon the still dusty table. She knew no one had stepped foot in here for seven years, but the room had not suffered from its long isolation from the rest of the house. The futon she had slept on was in perfect condition, and the clothes were not smelly in any way.

Walking to where she had placed the kimono, she ran her fingers along the fine material.

“Kaoru, come, I want to show you something.”

The young teenager turned around from her task of cleaning rice, and smiled, “What do you want to show me, Kaa-san?” The woman who was a near double of her daughter, with the exception of age and hair color, simply gestured for her child to follow. Curiosity overcame the raven haired girl, and so, she did as she was told.

They were now standing in Kaoru's room, “What is it?”

“Wait just a moment. Close your eyes, and I will tell you when to open them.” So, the bright orbs closed, and she listened carefully to her mother's movements. The woman left the room, and then soon returned, carrying something by the sounds of it, “Alright, you can open your eyes now!”

What the girl then saw, was her mother's favorite yukata of yellow and red, “Kaa-san, what is this for?” The girl was confused, but that wasn't all, because her mother sat the yukata on the stool that was near her desk, and then reached out of the room, and brought in her arms her best kimono, a fine silken material of dark blue, “Okaa-san!”

“I am giving them to you.” The elder woman smiled gently, a sad look in her eyes for a moment, and then it was gone replaced with happiness. Kaoru wasn't stupid, and did not miss the look. Something was wrong, but the teen let it go, so as not to ruin the special moment, “I hope that when you are older, they will fit you. You look just as I did when I was your age. I wish that you would wear them.”

Kaoru stared at the garments a few moments longer, “A-arigatou gozaimasu, Kaa-san.” Gathering the yukata in her arms, the girl slid open her closet and carefully placed it in, and her mother followed suit with the kimono, the obi of both garb going in with it, and the proper garments for underneath.

That had been just weeks before the murders. The hardened assassin did not like to linger on her memories. All she could think of was that she was at least honoring her mother's wish, in wearing the clothes that had been her most valued. Her slender hands carefully folded up the clothes, and then placed them in their spot in the closet, and brought out the other set of gi and hakama, her brother's, misplaced the day before the ordeal. She slipped on the garments, tied her hair low, and as always, took her sword. Before leaving the room, she grabbed her clothes from the day before, and some more bandaging.

Leaving the room, she carefully shut the door as not to alert anyone of her refuge. Then, she headed towards the kitchen area, where she heard the talk of men. She entered the medium sized room, where men were eating, yawning, and arguing over little matters. That all stopped at her presence, but she ignored that, and walked towards the red head who was staring at her hard. She slung her sword over her back, and dropped the clothing into his lap, “I hope you know where the laundry goes,” and then she continued on her way down the room, and exited out the other door.

As soon as she was gone, the last wisps of her long hair disappearing in the door frame, everyone started howling in laughter. Battousai sat there, silent rage boiling, and as soon as everyone saw the death glare raging in his gold eyes, they stopped, and continued on with their meals. He, however, did not, and stood up quickly, taking the bundle of clothes with him, and left the room following her footsteps. She was no where in sight.

Entering the bath house, she saw that the bath had been drawn up, steam rising from the water, and that no one was nearby, “I wonder how long it's been since I've had a real bath…” She quietly told herself. She stripped down, and removed the wrappings from her wound. It did not look much better, it was still lightly bleeding, and was not a pretty sight, but now that she had a chance to get good and clean, she felt that it probably would improve. She filled a nearby bucked with water from the pump that stood next to her. The icy water soaked her as she dumped it over her head, the cut stinging, but the assassin never showing it.

Spotting a bar of soap, she lathered up, covering every inch of skin in soap, and then she rinsed herself off, again pouring water over herself. Then she quickly washed her long hair, and no more than ten minutes later, she was sufficiently cleaned, and then got into the tub. Himitsu relished in the heat of the water, and felt it cleanse her wound, and loosen her muscles. She had not had much chance to relax in her years of work as a ghost. She knew there would not be chance to relax in the future. Barely fifteen minutes passed, and she heard footsteps nearby. She reached her arm over the edge of the tub and grasped her katana tightly, ready to draw it if anyone dared enter.

The woman stood out of the water and reached for her gi and pulled it over her shoulders. She had barely closed the front of her shirt, as the footsteps stopped at the door. The blue eyed girl unsheathed her sword and aimed it at the door.

The red head, still carrying the clothes Himitsu had tossed in his lap at breakfast, gave up his search for the girl and decided to worry about her later. He wanted a bath, and now was the perfect time to take one, since everyone else was to busy eating. He got closer to the building, not sensing anyone, and then walked to the door. He paused another minute, just to make sure he didn't hear anyone inside, and then opened the door. What greeted him, was a half naked woman and a sword in his face.

“YOU!” She nearly screeched. Her eyes were deathly cold, her face hard.

“ME??” The man shouted back in return, “You should have said something!” He was trying to ignore the pale, slender legs that were in line of his vision. She seemed to notice this, and lowered her katana and then grasped the door and slid it shut.

“And you?!” Her muffled voice jeered, “You should have knocked. People are not always noisy.”

“Did you not hear my footsteps?”

“Of course I heard them! How in hell was I supposed to know you were gonna stop. You could have been anyone. Aside which, it is courteous for the one approaching to make themselves known, not vice versa!” The door slid open, and she stood fully clothed, while shutting the front of her gi after she had rewrapped herself, “ALWAYS knock.” She glared at him hard, before finally leaving.

“Oh, and who made you all high and mighty suddenly?” Battousai couldn't help himself. The girl stopped right before entering the building, when she swung her head around with another cold gaze, “You seem to have failed to realize who the legal owner of this residence is.” Then she entered through the doorway, and went about her business.

The golden eyes locked on the spot she had disappeared. So… she does have another emotion: anger. Great… just great! The thought ran through his mind, and he entered the bathhouse deciding he might as well, tossing the small bundle of clothes aside. He unclothed and began to wash himself. His thoughts turned back to the moment the door had been opened. He had not seen finer legs before. “No. Don't think about that!” He told the room, “She is simply a woman with the wrong job and needs an attitude adjustment. We will accomplish whatever the hell it is that the boss wants us to do and then it will be finished and we will make our separate ways.

His thoughts then went to the different legends he had heard as he had traveled. Mysterious deaths with no explanation as to who caused them. The only sign was that the victims were always killed in some ruthless style, there was never a sword in the site, and no living witnesses to verify what happened. Many a time, people had thought it was the legendary Battousai, but others said that I could not be, for the Hitokiri would never give a man so ruthless, and dishonorable a death. Which was true, for the red head always gave the men a swift, instant death. A simple explanation then given was that there was another as deadly as Hitokiri, but an unknown other no one had ever lived to see, “The ghost she is supposed to be.”

By now, he was soaking in the tub, had been, but he quickly stood up out of the water and got dressed, letting his wet hair fall over his shoulders. The man felt like sparring. He didn't care who with, as long as the person wasn't a woman, and that it would last longer than ten minutes. He began listing off different names as he picked up the clothes that belonged to the girl. Battousai wasn't sure as to why he kept carrying them around.

After leaving the bath house, he went inside the building, the men still enjoying their leisurely breakfast. They all glanced at him, with amused looks. Looking about, he spotted on man with dark hair and eyes, a nasty scar across his forehead and very muscular shoulders, “What is that everyone finds so amusing?” The voice was low, cool and collected.

Being put in the spotlight of the deadliest man in Japan, the man seemed not to be bothered by it, “First off, you're still carrying those clothes that girl gave you, and second… that little argument you guys had… that could have been heard halfway across the world! Word of advice, Battousai, never mess with women. They will be your worst nightmare.” Looking around once again, with the amber orbs staring each person in the eye at least once, he then dropped the clothes in the speaker's lap, as Himitsu had done to him, “You take care of it then!” He didn't sound pissed, but he looked it, and then he left.

After taking her time in stretching out, Himitsu felt she was finally loose enough, as well as focused enough, to begin a one person sparring session without breaking anything. The petite woman held the wooden sword up in front of her, dark eyes closed, slowly releasing a breath, then lowering the power of her ki to nearly nothing. She made a quick thrust forward soundlessly.

Bringing it around her head, she turned around, “Haa!” Her voice shouted out. She froze in the crouching position she now stood in, both hands on the hilt of the training weapon, pointing it at an invisible foe, her eyes still closed. The sword quickly appeared under her arm, the tip pointing behind her, as if stabbing someone's belly. Leaving the bokken in the same spot, she spun around and her face scrunched up in a look of annoyance. The dark blue eyes opened to slits, and then, she removed one slender hand from the hilt, “HAA!”

Her movements were so fast they were merely a blur. The next thing seen was two bokken against each other, and a red head staring down into the ebony haired one's eyes. Himitsu stepped back, “Well, I can't blame you for wanting to practice, Battousai.” She lowered the weapon as he did so, “Go on. I'm not stopping you.”

“What are you doing in here? You should be resting.” He sounded annoyed, because what he had not wanted to happen, seemed to be happening.

She let out a cold laugh, “Me? Resting? Why would I do that.” She paused, pretending to think, “Oooh… I see. That little wound you gave me last night? That's nothing.” She again paused, waiting to hear anything sprout from his lips, which didn't, “Come on. I dare you. We'll see who wins this time.” She was looking at him with those mock filled eyes.

Internally, Battousai was battling over whether he should or shouldn't. He wanted to badly, because she was annoying the hell out of him, and he would rather see her fight than listen to her speak. But then, he had said he didn't like women fighting, and sparring with her would only help her continue with swordplay. However, the way she was looking at him, beckoning to him, he wouldn't dare let a woman defeat him. He thought back to when him and the boss were talking the night before. She had beat the master, yet then he himself had won. The way the larger man had looked at him gave the assassin the dreaded sensation that the girl had LET him win. No, he wanted to know how she fought for real. His pride won, “Dare accepted.” The amber eyes narrowed, and he stood in front of her, as she did him.

Alright, I am ending the chapter here. Why? I could make it much longer. I probably would, but I am going to be very busy the next two weeks. I am leaving for an unexpected trip to Sendai tomorrow, and I won't be back home until the tenth. Then I go to Kyoto the 22nd- 24th. Kyoto will be nice, because I'll get some sense of the city this story takes place in! When I get back from Sendai, I will start the next chapter.

So, a little battle is gonna ensue between the two. I wonder what it will turn out like? What do you think of the distinction between the two? Is there too much of something I am putting in, too little? Maybe we'll get some more of Kaoru in the next chapter. Himitsu, remember, is Kaoru, but isn't, if you get what I mean? I am also thinking of getting a mission in the next chapter. We'll see how it goes. Please review with your thoughts!

Hotaru

Date Finished: August 6, 2005