Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Perfect Life of Kamiya Kaoru ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 6 )

A/n- In case you missed the last author's note, Kenshin finally makes his reappearance in this chapter. ^_^ I also wanted to take a vote. For details, refer to the author's notes at the end of this chapter, simply because I want it to be fresh on the readers' minds if/when they press that REVIEW button. On to the story!

 

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Chapter 3:

 

A pair of glassy blue eyes scanned the area filled with dancing bodies. To make it clear, they were not glassy because he was teary or upset; rather, think of a doll's eyes. Pretty, but devoid of any emotion; almost fake. A curtain of pure black hair partially hid the icy twin orbs from view.

 

The man casually pushed them out of his face, while making pointed eye contact with another man at the bar. The target was now in place.

 

The man at the bar lifted his glass just a fraction of an inch as his comrade swept away toward the exit. He lingered just long enough to place a tip on the bar before disappearing into the crowd. This was surprisingly easy considering his odd, crimson hair color.

 

His amber eyes glinted amid the flashing strobe lights that would have impaired the vision of a lesser man. It was time to make their move.

 

~Outside~

 

“The stage is set, Zanza…” The last man, codenamed Zanza gave a small, wry grin. Unlike the blue-eyed male, his cinnamon orbs were anything but empty; however, they conveyed a shocking lack of guilt toward what he was about to become a part of.

 

“About damn time. You know how many people have tried showing me their shit IDs?! Do I LOOK like a fucking bouncer?!” Zanza's companion allowed him to vent his outrage as they hovered near the back alley wall, casually. Zanza took a steadying breath and ran a hand distractedly through his long, messy brown hair.

 

Suddenly, a young woman darted by, long blue ribbon dangling from her mouth as she hastened to gather her raven hair in a ponytail. Navy blue eyes strayed to them curiously, but she did not seem to give the two inconspicuous strangers much thought as she flew past them.

 

“She was cute…” Zanza said after a moment's silence. His stoic friend did not reply.

 

~Inside~

 

“Battousai.”

 

The said amber-eyed man adjusted his “earring” and spoke in quick, soft whispers. “Save your breath, I'm in place,” he said shortly. The voice on the other end was silent for a second.

 

“…You've been irritable lately, Battousai. Don't forget what you've been trained for…”

 

“I don't need your reminders, Okashira. Just do your job and I'll do mine,” Battousai turned the annoying device off and threw into a garbage can nearby. Okashira had real guts to speak to him that way. Then again, what he'd said had a ring of truth to it.

 

Battousai had been feeling somewhat… restless as of late. Rebellious even. He had been assured it was just a stage, but a nagging doubt had settled in the back of his mind and kept springing up at odd moments, making him hesitate in his… his work.

 

Hesitation was not tolerated in his profession.

 

Turning these thoughts away, he concentrated on the task at hand. His target was less than ten feet away. The man was currently engaged in a heated session with his prostitute on the other side of the door that Battousai was seated next to. Battousai could feel the repulsive, weak ki rising and falling with passion.

 

Suddenly, he felt something soft brush against his leg, causing him to stiffen as a slight tingling sensation swept through him. A wave of feminine scent washed over him and Battousai's eyes barely unfocused.

 

Those were his only outward reactions as he inhaled the unique aroma of vanilla and coffee laced through clean, jasmine perfume.

 

“Shit!” The female cursed. Battousai could see why. The girl could not have been older than 18; she was too young to be in such a place. But here she was, in the uniform of a waitress, with broken glass littered around her feet. The tray she had been carrying had tipped over and the dishware had shattered when she tripped over his foot.

 

One shard, Battousai realized with detachment, had embedded itself in his leg. The young woman was horrified.

 

“Oh my God! I'm so sorry sir. Can you walk? Please let me help you…” Battousai watched with mild interest at the display of emotions flitting across the woman's soft and expressive features.

 

Her eyes, a little teary and panicked at the moment, were large and brilliant sapphire blue. Her ivory skin was flushed with exertion from her work and maybe some embarrassment. As she made a motion to stand him up, he reluctantly decided not to stray from his soon-to-be victim.

 

“I'm fine,” he snapped, intending to sound harsh and scare her away. To his utter amazement, she narrowed her eyes instead and squared her shoulders, catching him off guard.

 

“You have a huge glass shard sticking out of your leg and I'm the one who put it there. It's my fault, and you are COMING WITH ME!” Battousai was left in shock, struck speechless at her stupidity (bravery).

 

Did she not realize that there were exactly eighteen different ways for him to overpower her if she were to actually lead him away from the crowd of club patrons? `Apparently not,' he thought, still in awe. This was perhaps the only reason she was able to grab his arm - which was, in itself, a feat not many could brag about - and drag him into one of the back rooms.

 

Battousai, one of the most feared assassins underground was completely at a loss at how to deal with forceful, blue-eyed girls.

 

He watched in fascination as she swiftly removed the offending object and stopped the blood flow, taking care to ask him at intervals if he felt pain or discomfort. He was unused to the gentle ministrations she employed on his leg.

 

His usual `medical treatment' consisted of himself taking a needle in the shower and literally patching himself up after a job. Battousai grudgingly found himself enjoying the fleeting and unintentional caresses of her hands upon his skin, and was starting to believe he was spending too much time around Zanza, when she abruptly asked him a question.

 

“So what's your name?” she asked. Under normal circumstances, he would have ignored her, but due to blood loss - Yes, that had to be it - he found himself answering automatically.

 

“Batt - Bob,” he changed his mind halfway through the response. For some reason, he regretted it. He didn't want to get her risk getting her involved, but at the same time, with strange certainty, he knew he could trust this girl.

 

“Bob?” she arched an attractive - `You've got to be kidding me,' he thought defiantly - eyebrow.

 

“Bob,” he stated with finality. She looked like she was about to argue, but seemed to change her mind at the last second. Instead she tied off the bandage a bit roughly and met his gaze with a tiny flickering frostiness in her eyes that had not been there a moment before.

 

“Well I'm Kamiya Kaoru. And I'm sorry again about your leg. It was nice to meet you.” Without replying, Battousai got up and simply walked away from both the uncomfortable atmosphere and the blue-eyed girl called Kaoru.

 

Judging from the impassioned sounds coming from behind the door, target was still in position. He felt both relieved and disappointed as he sat back in his seat next to the room.

 

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Kaoru frowned. She had to keep her eye on that one. To most people, “Bob” would practically be considered wallpaper. However, it had struck Kaoru as odd that he was being so quiet and inconspicuous, right in the middle of a dance club.

 

Usually people came to, well, dance.

 

It also helped, she thought proudly, that she was a swordsman. Kaoru had sensed his extremely subtle, but present, hostile intent. There was a certain person occupying the room that he kept close to, but she doubted whether he was some much-hated politician or anyone of similar consequence.

 

She didn't honestly think he was a hit man or anything. After all, this club was pretty popular and they tended to get extraordinary guests all the time. So why did she have such an unsettled feeling?

 

What HAD cemented her suspicions, however, was the actual glass incident. It had been an accident when she had tripped over his feet, but the way he had not reacted at all after getting hurt had really creeped her out.

 

`What kind of person just sits there after getting sta--' “EEEK!” she screamed as her manager suddenly popped up at her side.

 

She'd never seen Mr. Haruki look so livid. Every hair in his bristling beard was quivering, and his sharp black eyes made him look like a hawk swooping down on its prey.

 

“Not only are you late again, but you've been INJURING customers, Kamiya?! There is no excuse for this! We'll be lucky if he doesn't file a lawsuit and I loose half of my waitresses!” It was common knowledge that most of his waitresses were underage. This was how he got so much business.

 

Kaoru knew it was horrible for her to be working here, but fact was, the job paid very well and for very light work. All she had to do was look pretty and attract more customers. It took a lot of willpower to bow her head and look ashamed. As soon as she found another job with decent wages, Kaoru had every intention of quitting.

 

This was not to be.

 

“You're fired Kamiya,” Mr. Haruki sighed, blustering anger fading into resignation. “Clean out your locker and go home.” Kaoru's head snapped back up in outrage.

 

“You can't do that!”

 

“I believe I just did. Return your uniform to the back room and get out of here.”

 

Infuriated beyond measure, Kaoru stormed past the red-haired man and into the back room where she had tended his wound. `Stupid Bob! It's all his fault…'

 

 

 

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A/n- The whole `Bob' thing I made up on the spot. I hope it wasn't too corny -_-… I tend to do that sometimes… Anyhoo, so yeah, Kaoru and (heh heh) Battousai have met and now all my little main characters are in play.

 

Just so you know, I've decided that instead of putting this fic in two parts, I'm gonna make it one long story. So those of you about to click the review button (Probably wishful thinking on my part) should know that you're in for a long, difficult haul… Until next time! ~Ali

 

Ps- I decided against the whole vote thing, Im not even sure if it's allowed on mm.org and Im just the kind of person who'll probably end up doing things her own way no matter what the vote results say…