Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Heavenly Lost ❯ Remember the Blue Ribbon ( Chapter 6 )

A/N: I want to give some SPECIAL THANKS to Joey for letting me use his poem in this chapter. (More information in the final author's note, I don't want to give it away just yet). Well I'll shut up now and let you read. Enjoy!

Chapter VI

Remember the Blue Ribbon

"Jine Udo" The words slipped from her mouth so softly he didn't even hear her.

He looked at her with his horrible deep eyes and she took a gasp as she remembered the powers that emerged from his stare.

He didn't spoke, he just grabbed the chain that tied her and dragged her behind him.

Kaoru felt a sharp pain in her neck as he pulled her but she remained silent. She wasn't going to give him the pleasure of a scream. She tried to stop walking but he was very strong and she couldn't put any resistance to him.

Jine finally stopped once they reached a blind alley. He used the chains to tied Kaoru to the wall. She collapsed on the floor once he was finish and he sat in front of her.

"When I first saw you I couldn't believe it." Said Jine without even looking at her. "The Battousai's woman was in front of me, all chained up and just waiting for me to come along and kidnap her. That was just too good to be truth. Is the first good thing that has happened to me in the years I've been here… waiting for him"

Kaoru looked up. Her captor looked exactly as he did so many years ago. She noticed his clothes were torn and in his chest she saw a diagonal scar she had learn to recognize. She smiled softly as she saw another prove of the recovered strength of her rurouni. Jine already had an encounter with him and he surely lost. But then why did he kidnap her? The last time he wanted to lure the Battousai out of Kenshin, but now… Kenshin was strong enough as he was so what did Jine wanted with her?

Jine looked at her and caught her staring at his newest scar.

"So you recognize this don't you?" Kaoru blinked at his words but didn't show any emotion. "I don't know when did the Battousai learned to do this but it sure caught me by surprise, is such a powerful attack, but the next time I'll be prepared for him"

Kaoru's eyes widen at his statement and she finally spoke.

"There is nothing you can do to Kenshin, he is beyond you now"

Jine smiled evilly as he rose to his feet and walked to her. He grabbed her head by the chin with one hand and lifted it so she would look at him in the eye.

"Now I have you and that gives me the greatest power over him I could wish for"

Kaoru shivered. His hand was so cold and his eyes were staring deep into her. She tried to move, to get away from him but the chains wouldn't let her and he held firmly his hand. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She came to hell to help Kenshin, not to be his weakness. She wasn't going to let Jine get away with his evil plan; she had to stop him somehow.

She met the kidnaper's eyes with her own pair of blue ones with an angry look on them.

"There is no way you can harm Kenshin through me. I won't let you."

Jine let his hand go and pushed Kaoru to the wall. She hit it hard but recovered quickly and stared at him again.

"You don't understand." He said with the same creepy smile on his face. "As long as I have you there is nothing he can do to me."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you kidnapped me?"

Jine blinked and remembered his last moments on earth. They seemed so distant now but he could never forget them.

"Back then I had I different intention. I just wanted to fight the legendary hitokiri, but now I want vengeance! I want him to suffer, I've been waiting so long for his arrival here and now he is finally in hell and I can accomplish what I wanted for so long. He defeated me but he didn't give me the honor of dying by his sword so is because of him that I'm doom in more than one way. The pain of hell isn't enough for someone like him that only knows how to deny who he really is! I will give him what he deserves"

With the sound of his words Kaoru felt how her whole body was filled with anger. How could he say such things? She stood up; she didn't care about the chains or the pain on her neck or her tired bones. She shot a death glare at Jine as she defied him with her eyes.

"You don't know Kenshin and you have no right to judge him. Just because you were both hitokiris during the Bakumatsu that doesn't mean he is the same as you. He chose to stop killing, he left that live behind and spent his time on earth atoning for the sins he committed, he was a good person, he always cared for others instead of himself and he doesn't deserves to be here! I'm not letting him stay in hell, that's why I came here, to get him out and not you or anyone is going to stand in my way!"

The smile was gone from Jine's face and was replaced by a confused look. He remained silent for a moment as he looked at the chained girl in front of him. She looked exactly as she did so many years ago, she was brave then but she was even braver now. She was still a courageous woman in the body of a naïve girl.

"What do you mean when you said you came here?"

She remained silent as she realized that she had said more that she should.

"Off course" Said Jine approaching her again. "I figured a girl like you didn't belong in hell. I knew you cared for Battousai but I didn't know you cared for him as much as this. I never though I would see a soul that picked hell over heaven just to find someone…" Then the smiled retuned to his lips as he put his hand in her cheek.

She moved her face to the side to avoid his touch and he grabbed her and forced her to look at him again.

"I just can imagine the look on Battousai's when he realizes that his lovely and innocent woman isn't only in hell but also in the position of one of his enemies. I just can't wait to see his face when he gets here and sees you in my power."

Jine's grip on Kaoru tightened but she remained silent. He started laughing loudly as he let her face go and walked away from her. Kaoru's eyes were closed and in her mind she could see Kenshin's face, she mentally called him and for a moment she felt a connection with him and heard him cal her name. She opened her eyes when she felt her long raven hair loosen up and fell softly on her shoulders.

* * *

Kenshin's heart was aching in a weird way since he felt that uneasy felling in the middle of his run. He couldn't tell how he knew but he was sure Kaoru was in trouble. He had a connection with her, even in hell he could feel her sometimes and he felt her then and for the first time in a long while he was afraid.

He run and run, his legs were tired but he didn't cared, he just had to find her. He closed his eyes and stopped moving. He knew he could find her, he just needed to concentrate. He thought about her, about what drew him to her, about why he loved her so much…

~~~"Every night I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming Of death, Of cries and suffering,Of blood and cries, of fear and loneliness.
Every night I'm dreaming Of dead eyes and dried blood, Of broken bodies and tortured souls. Darkness around me, Only the blood shining And the metal of my blade.
But some nights, I can see a shining light, A flame of pure blue light, Blue like the sky on a summer day And like the wide ocean and Like your eyes.
A light that shines brighter Than the blood and A light that overcomes all Cries in the night and A light that makes all bodies Vanish into thin air.
How can it be that light looks Like your eyes? How can it be your pure soul Is able to overcome death? How can it be your kindness reaches as far as my katana was never able to reach? How can it be you wereable to become My sheath so easily?
Oh please, teach me your mind. I want you to be my angel. And please never leave my sinful soul Alone in this eternal darkness of my mind. Cause I can't stand living apartof you.
But please don't try to change my past, Cause I can't stand you being a part of my sinful soul And I can't stand you being a part of my past. So just guide me and stay beside me, Cause I want you to be a part of my future. Although I'm not worthyof you.
I'll always protect you, And I'll always admire you And the strength of your mind. Just please never stop being my sheath. Cause I can't stand living apart of you.
Although I'm a living nightmare, And I took so many lives. Although I'm a sinner, And you are an angel, Although there could be no difference Larger than the difference between us. Although I'm part of hell,And you are a part of heaven.
You are my very soul. Thank you for being my angel, Kaoru."~~~(***See author's note***)

At the moment he thought her name he could hear her calling him somewhere. He felt her closer that he had felt her since he died, like she was right beside him. He opened his eyes and stared at his hands. He looked at the object he was holding without believing his eyes. How could that be? He passed his fingers through the soft silk with a smile on his face as he realized what that meant. He didn't know how it was possible but he was sure he was holding her blue ribbon. He could recognize it anywhere, it was her favorite and he could just see her giving it to him before his battle with Jine… before she was captured by him.

Kenshin's heart suddenly stopped as he realized the complete meaning of the object he was holding.

He ran once more, using his god like speed. He dashed through the streets without noticing anyone there, he ran, but this time he knew where he was going, a soft feeling was guiding him, he wasn't lost anymore.

* * *

Kaoru was still cold and very tired. The heavy weight of the chains had her on the floor with her back on the wall behind her. Her wrists and ankles hurt because of the tight cuffs around them. Jine was sitting beside her, he was waiting for Kenshin. He was sure he'll come and he had an evil plan in mind.

Kaoru's hair was loose and it cascaded down her body beautifully. She somehow knew what had happened with her ribbon and she was expecting Kenshin to appear with it any moment. She knew fate had decided that this time he would find her so she just waited for him to come and as usually rescue her again.

She closed her eyes and discovered that it didn't matter how tired she was, she couldn't sleep. "Hell is a place that makes us fell alive but takes out the most important and basic gifts we have on earth and sometimes take for granted. The ability to get warm, the right to sleep when we are tired, to eat when we are hungry, to be able to return some place, to have shelter,to heal from our wounds, to see daylight, to se the stars or the moon, to marvel at something beautiful, to have hope…"

Kaoru opened her eyes when she felt the cold hand of Jine in her shoulder. She looked at him, he wasn't smiling this time but his eyes alone were enough to scare her.

"The Battousai would be here any minute" He said as he forced her up "And when he gets here I want him to find a nice surprise"

Kaoru shivered at his words but didn't show it. She remembered that it was her decision to go to hell, she knew the risk she would be taking and she was willing to go through that just for the hope of saving him. She looked directly at Jine determined to accept whatever was coming.

Jine looked at her but avoided her eyes. He took out his sword and the candle light reflected on the blade. He put the sword close to her throat but she didn't move.

"You know what'll happen if I slay you?" He asked hopping to frighten her. When no answer or movement came he continued. "You'll bleed eternally and forever feel the pain; here there is not the relief of death"

He let the tip of his blade pierce her skin and a soft line of blood fell down her neck. She didn't move and no sound came out of her mouth. Jine put down the sword and then used the hilt to weapon to hit her on the face. Again Kaoru's response was a silent stare. Jine was getting mad. He wanted her to suffer, he wanted her to scream because her pain was also Battousai's pain.

He put the sword to her throat again but this time he was determined to sly her.

He felt the tip of the blade in her skin and he tightened the grip. He prepared himself to make the swift movement that in earth would have ended her life.

"Get away from her" A soft and cold voice was heard in the alley.

Jine turned around and Kaoru fixed her stare in the read headed swordsman standing in front of her.

"So you found us Battousai"

"I said get away from her" Kenshin said calmly as he approached them.

Jine didn't moved, his sword still in Kaoru's throat.

Kenshin was in a ready stance, his eyes fixed in the sword that was so closely put on his loved one neck. His hand was just above the hilt of his sakabato, ready to draw it in less of the blink of an eye.

"Don't get closer Battousai or I'll slay her throat" Said Jine as his smiled returned to his face.

Kenshin instinctively stopped but was still in a ready stance.

"I knew you'll come and now we can have another fight"

Kenshin didn't respond and Jine was getting madder by the minute. He wanted to hurt him, he just wanted to…

And without even thinking it and with a swift movement Jine used his blade to slay Kaoru in the chest. The girl didn't open her mouth but collapsed to the floor.

Kenshin flipped his blade and in less than a second he used his succession technique in Jine. The kidnaper hit the floor before Kaoru was caught in Kenshin's arms.

She looked up at him and smiled.

"I've found you"

Kenshin held her close to him forgetting that she couldn't die. He then looked at her wound. She was bleeding, her gi was torn and the chains that held her hands to her neck were lying in pieces on the floor.

He felt her soft hand in his cheek and he looked into her deep blue eyes.

"I'm fine" She said with a soft voice "It doesn't hurt much"

He looked at the wound again and he examined it with more attention. The wound wasn't too deep. The big chains had absorbed most of the blow. If they were on earth she wouldn't have died.

He used his sword to free her from the remaining chains and then he carried her and walked away from the alley.

He took out her ribbon and showed it to her.

"I think this is yours" He said as he handed it to her.

"You took good care of it" She said with a smile.

Then they just stared at each others eyes. They didn't need words to comprehend each other. They were together at last. They both closed their eyes at the same time and their lips touched and parted as they shared a long awaited kiss.

* * *

A/N: First of all Kenshin's thoughts in the second part, the ones that are between this: ~~~ and say at the end to see the author's note, doesn't belong to me, they belong to Joey and you can find them in his poem called "Life of a Sinner". I just borrowed it; I thought his poem was really good and that it just fitted perfectly in my story so if you liked it why don't you send him a review?

I also hope you liked this chapter, Kenshin and Kaoru finally met but they are still in hell.