Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Death Order ❯ Chapter 2

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

By: Felix02

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.

The Death Order
By: Felix02
Article Two

Kaoru felt faint as she tentatively touched her forehead, cold as usual, and smiled to the man who stood before her dressed in black like herself. Yet their blacks contrasted so differently, evil and good, unnaturally almost; his black suit and white collar symbolized something pure and whole, while her own black dress mourned evil tears. Gently he smiled back to match her own.

"How did you find out?" The priest asked placing his out stretch palms against the flat surface of his desk, a wide smile apparent on his boyish face. "You must have traveled a long way to find me."

Kaoru nodded closing her eyes from a brief moment. Yes, she had come along way, many miles in fact and over two countries to reach Belgium, the city where rumors spread about a group of underground priest who held the power to change vampires back into humans. It had been a rumor she found hope in, so much in fact that she spent the last year planning how to escape from Kenshin's French country estate.

Many nights Kaoru had secluded herself from the rest of the vampires as they went out to feed, and it was then, during her own private asylum, she had mapped out her course to Germany. She was not a strong vampire because she was not one of the Elders, the vampires who had always been and always were; she was apart of a group of vampires labeled The Turned, a human born and a vampire turned. And because of that weakness of blood power, Kaoru could not fly as fast or as constant as the others she had come to know as friends.

And further, she could only travel at night.

But she was smart if anything, raised to use her brains though she had been born a woman, her father made sure of that. He prided himself on being a progressive man, a liberal reader even in their social standing - not poor, not wealthy. She had been raised on Swift, Dryden and Defoe; taught the art of science by her father just because of his love to share every piece of knowledge he knew, and stood transfixed as her father bought herbs and spices to see what he could make.

She wished to know how he died, wished to be with him at that moment to say goodbye, to kiss his cheek once more and hold his hand yet that sad privilege had been stolen from her - her father thought she had died before his own death, only if.

A moment of silence passed because of her thoughts before she answered, "Rumors," the priest nodded, "vampires know of these things, rumor or not."

"Why do you wish to change back into a mortal?"

Her heart skipped a beat and without hesitation answered, "To live."

The priest ever constant smile never wavered, if anything it only widened. He stood up, placed his hands behind his back, and strode up and down the room. "To live," he repeated.

"Yes," Kaoru breathed out softly as if she were afraid to break his pace. He kept his stride, powerful and graceful for both human and vampire alike.

"I use to hunt vampires, Miss Kaoru, did you know that?" She shook her head. "I was a priest then, too, apart of an order assigned by the Vatican in 1215 - secretly, of course." Kaoru blinked, she had no idea that the Vatican had such an order and ideally wondered if the Elders knew such a sect of the Catholic Church existed. "I've been apart of The Death Order(1) for about eleven years now, but only in the last seven years I, along with five others, wanted to save in another way." He looked at Kaoru, a smile on his boyish face, but somehow it looked serious almost dreadful.

"You've heard, of course," he waved his arm in a motion to slap the thought away, "about out ability to change vampires back into humans, hot-blooded beings."

Kaoru hand perspired. She reached into her dress and pulled out a white handkerchief to wipe them dry. Just being inside a church caused havoc in her body, but she neither acknowledged it nor did Father Soujiro seem to notice, that or he was waiting for her to announce her discomfort. She remembered a time when she loved to be in the presence of a Tabernacle(2), have beams of colored light created by stained-glass window fall across her face; that time was long past, almost two life times past.

He stopped pacing for a moment, "You know the pain will be excruciating." She closed her eyes. "You will die in a sense again just how you die in a way as you became a vampire. We have to drain you of all your blood and bodily fluids, recite prayers for God's mercy, that's just one step of Permutation."

"Is that what you call the transformation, then?" Kaoru asked her voice stronger than before. Father Soujiro smile changed into one that gave comfort, and he kneeled before her.

"Actually, the word means 'change', 'transformation' - we priest did not think a fancy title was necessary."

"What will happen after the Permutation is complete."

Father Soujiro tilted his head to the side, pushed his weight on her knee, and stood back up once again to resume his pacing. Above his desk, in the flickering candle light, a wooden cross transfixed her gaze. Jesus was crying blood, His face twisted in agony, but through that pain something else radiated in the figurine - determination.

"Some of the vampire we have healed lived only for a year, other range from five to seven, seven being the most. Never one regretted it." He turned towards her again, his face boyish as ever. "There will be times of pain, not all the time, but it will come and go. Your body after Permutation will immediately begin to decay at a slow pace since your life span has gone past the life span of a regular mortal body. In a sense, your death will be catching up with you at a faster pace; you will age to an old woman in a matter of two to five years depending on how long you live -”

Kaoru could bring herself to care about the eventual loss of her youth, she was sick of it; youth was like money, one became jaded after awhile. She wanted to age, wanted to die, wanted to live, anything would be worth the pain. "But I would be able to be in the sun?" Kaoru asked gripping the armrest to her chair. "I will be able to actually live in the sun, breathe in light, fed on something other than blood." Kaoru's voice shook with hope, terror and excitement.

Father Soujiro looked taken aback for a moment before, what Kaoru believed; a true smile crept onto his face. "I guess that answers my question if my colleagues and I can really trust you."

Kaoru nodded, "I travel so far with the fear of being found, so many nights I had to travel alone with only a map as guidance and the hope that the rumors were true."

Father Soujiro sat back down. "Do you mind if I ask who turned you?" Kaoru became silent, her face reflected guilt and love and pain, Soujiro noted. "Do you love him?"

Kaoru was not surprised by the priest's inquiry, Kenshin often told her that she was an open book and that he never wanted that to change - he loved that about her. But Kaoru had tried to change just to make him upset, to show he held no power over her, yet failed miserably; she could not change who she was, and at the point she thought she could not change what she was...it was only until recently, the rumors, her hope...

"When I was a child, my mother always told me love was both cruel and soft, torture and splendor. I've always thought myself in love with him, from the first moment I saw him, yet he took me without my consent and I forgave him, but I cannot bring myself to forget. He wants to utterly posses me and he must think that is what love is - possession, yet I know that is not love, it's lust. I do not know if he really knows the meaning of love at times, but at the same time, I know he does." Kaoru blushed, "I'm sorry, you must think me inappropriate."

Father Soujiro shook his head, "No, not in the least, it's understandable. I cannot answer if he loves you or not, it maybe his way." He leaned back slowly, thoughtfully. "My mother might not have been elegant with words as your own, but she tried to communicate the Bible's words only a daily basis; she always did say that love was patient and kind, never selfish. The Bible, of course, says it much better than I."

Kenshin was unknowingly selfish - was it truly love on his part then, on her own? If he truly loved her, really and honestly and purely, he would have let her go, would he not? He was a complicated man, a wise man, kind in some ways and lived life longer than she ever could that maybe he too had become jaded.

"What's his name?" Father Soujiro asked. Kaoru bite her bottom lip trying to think of how Father Soujiro's reaction would be. What would he do when he found out that her turner was one of the most powerful vampires in the world? She shuddered at the thought praying in quick pain to God that neither Soujiro nor any other would be harmed by him. She could feel his rage deep inside her, his searching that bore no fruit of her reappearance, and she wanted to both comfort and run from him.

"Battousai," Father Soujiro's eyes widened a tiny fraction, "Kenshin to me."

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, I promise the next one will be longer. So tell me what you think and contact me if you're confused about anything since I know I did a horrid job at explaining Permutation. Basically all you need to know is that it changes vampires back into humans. I know that is very unlikely, but I thought it was a cool idea on how Kaoru could spite Kenshin.

And if you have questions on whether Kenshin and Kaoru truly do love one another, I'm afraid I cannot answer that for you. It's a matter of opinion.

(1) The Death Order: I made this up so don't go to the Vatican's web site or e-mail the pope asking about it. Lol.

(2) The Tabernacle: Only in Catholic churches, I think. It is the place where the hold the Body of Jesus Christ. Catholics, unlike Protestants except Lutheran's I think, believe that we actually are eating and drinking the true Body and Blood of Christ - it's a sacrament one of the mysterious of Catholic faith. If you want Biblical scriptures of why Catholics believe that, just ask me.

Please review if you have time. Oh yeah, thanks to all who reviewed last time! And yes I know there are a bunch of mistakes and I'll fix them, don't worry.

- Felix02