Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Slumbering City ❯ A Legal Claim ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me.

The fantastic Elley helped me edit this on 06Apr06.

The Slumbering City

By Indygodusk

Chapter 2: A Legal Claim

Earth painted the knees of Kaoru's jeans from where she'd knelt beside the fountain. Brushing her pants off distractedly, she circled the now thriving garden looking for an exit. The wood of the veranda had been gray, rough, and rotting with age when she'd first entered. Now the planks glowed with a smooth golden tan in the sunlight. Through the soles of her well-worn sneakers radiated heat from the sun-warmed wood, begging her to lie down and rest from her labors. The unnatural fatigue still dogged her steps, but Kaoru refused to give into it, however tempting.

After about ten minutes of searching, Kaoru was ready to scream. As far as she could tell, there weren't even any windows looking into the garden, much less doors for entering and exiting. Punching the wall didn't make her feel better, either. It just hurt.

Leaning her forehead against a wooden pillar, Kaoru cradled her aching hand to her chest and closed her eyes exhaustedly. “Please,” she whispered, “I'm tired. I'm late and I need to go.”

For a moment nothing happened. Then the grain of the wooden pillar beneath her forehead grew hot and the scent of sunlight became almost overwhelmingly strong. Strength flowed into her body, burning away not only her current fatigue, but also the dark cloud she'd been living under since the accident.

Rejuvenated, Kaoru opened her eyes and straightened. With a smile she noted that a sliding paper door had appeared three feet away. “Thank you,” she called out to the bright courtyard. A lick of sunny warmth brushed against her leg. If the garden and veranda had been a dog, she had the impression that it would have been wagging its tail in pleasure. How odd….

Sliding open the paper door, Kaoru stepped into an empty room. Opposite was another door. Excited, Kaoru rushed to the outer door, forgetting in her haste to close the one leading back into the garden. She exited the room into a long hallway and quickly began walking in the only available direction.

Wandering through the corridors of the Battousai mansion, Kaoru tried to find a room that looked familiar. None of the doors she opened yielded anything recognizable, but the fact that the hallway hadn't ended yet gave her hope. Several times she looked back and noticed hallway disappearing about ten feet behind her. It seemed like the house was creating a passage just for her in an effort to speed her way.

This whole experience was wonderful. She probably should be feeling terrified too, but she was having trouble hanging on to any negative feelings. Kaoru was worried about Megumi's reaction to her tardiness, of course, and about getting in trouble for wandering off, not to mention what she'd do if the hallway disappeared with her inside of it, but those emotions paled under the rush of energy and joy bubbling through her veins.

Although she'd heard that people used magic all the time here in the big city, back home in her little town people mostly depended on technology. Magic was rare there. It wasn't until a field trip in ninth grade that she experienced magic firsthand, and even then it had been a small thing. A local farmer used magic to turn his grapes instantly into wine instead of letting the bottles sit for years aging. Since she hadn't met anyone else in her town that used enchantments, it had also served to isolate her from magic.

Come to think of it, that had been her first taste of alcohol too. She hadn't liked the tartness on her tongue or the burning in the back of her throat. The taste, combined with the expensive price of alcohol compared to other, kinder-to-her-budget beverages had turned her away from such drinks.

Kaoru didn't know if this feeling was normal. Maybe anyone could have awoken that garden. Maybe she wasn't special. However, she felt special and joyous and she was going to hug those feelings tight to her chest for as long as she could.

Down the corridor, Kaoru saw an open door. Through its frame she recognized the silhouettes of swords and spears. It was the weapons room. Pumping her fist into the air in celebration, she jogged forward. She had known that everything would work out.

Crippled by fear when she'd first seen this room, she hadn't truly appreciated the many beautiful objects. Now alone, her palms itched and her pace slowed. Energy popped and fizzled under her skin. It took almost more control than she had to resist grabbing the display bokken off the wall and enthusiastically swinging into a kata, or perhaps picking up the naginata and reenacting a historical drama she'd seen last year on television.

Remember, she scolded herself half-heartedly, you don't want to make trouble on your very first day in the city. At least, not more trouble than you already have. Returning to a jog, she forced herself to exit the room.

Maybe if she was lucky, the tour group hadn't even noticed her absence. Perhaps she could just slip back into the rear of the group without anyone being none the wiser. After all, it would be hard to notice one missing woman with all of those rowdy teenaged boys creating distractions.

Rounding the corner, Kaoru was forced to skid to a stop in order to avoid crashing into the tall man lounging against the wall. His stoic expression did not bode well for her escape. Eyes narrowing, he gracefully uncurled his long limbs and straightened up to stand in the center of the hallway.

He had to be almost a foot taller than Kaoru's five foot one. She had to take a step back just to keep from hurting her neck as she looked up into his face. Everything, from his stiff trench coat to the way his dark blue shirt fastened all the way up to mid-neck, screamed that he meant business.

“Um, Hi?” Kaoru felt intimidated, but he didn't need to know that, right? “I got lost and was wondering if you could direct me to the front door. I was with the museum group.” His face didn't even twitch during her explanation. “If they're still touring I can just go and wait in the van.” Still he stared at her, as if trying to pry out her every secret just by looking.

If he didn't say something soon, she just knew she was going to start babbling. Considering the weirdness that had just happened with the fountain and the disappearing corridor, babbling would be a bad thing. “You must be busy. I'm sorry for bothering you.” Bowing politely, she stepped left and tried to skirt around his intimidating frame.

Slapping his hand onto the wall only inches from her face, he loomed over her petite body and blocked her escape. “You've been missing for almost two hours,” he commented in an overly even voice. “We looked, but couldn't find you. Where have you been?”

The looming was definitely freaking her out, but this panic was nothing compared to her earlier episode and was thus easily suppressed. Tilting her head in inquiry, she tried to look small and inoffensive. Ha, she thought, psychoses are good for something after all. I'm so used to being terrified out of my mind that a good, solid, scary person is actually a bit comforting. So there! I'm not afraid of you, even if you do loom and smell delicious- I mean look intimidating! Wait, what was his question?

Clearing her throat, Kaoru gathered her thoughts and tried to modulate her tone into something soft and feminine. Her usual strident denials of guilt probably wouldn't help here. “I got lost. This is a very big place and I kept getting turned around. I'm terribly sorry if I inconvenienced you.” Unfortunately, he still didn't seem to be buying it.

It had been years since she'd tried the puppy dog eyes on someone, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, this infusion of magical energy reminded her of being young and able to get away with anything.

Looking down at the floor, Kaoru took a big breath and thought about baby animals. Then she lifted her chin and gazed wide-eyed into his piercing stare. For a moment her mental images wavered into large carnivores with sharp teeth, but her will was strong and her discipline pure. Petting zoos weren't just for kids, after all. She'd done training. Grasping onto the memory of the baby goats, and the kitties, can't forget those, she managed to hold her innocent expression.

With a grunt he dropped his arm from the wall and stepped back. “Come,” he ordered as he started to walk. Kaoru held in her sigh of relief and followed. It was tempting to try and speculate on where they were going, but he looked like the type to notice if she dropped her act.

In an attempt to keep from looking like the type of girl who would break into a secret passageway, dig up an old garden, and magically fix a fountain that the owner might not have wanted fixed, she started listing off all of the baby animals she had ever seen… alphabetically. Kaoru wasn't quite sure what that type of girl would look like, but she felt confident that it was pretty far from her own `I'm thinking about baby animals' face.

As her menacing guide, who also happened to smell really nice and look the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, facts that you aren't going to think about!, turned down a corridor away from the entrance, she felt her shoulders droop. As they walked, she moved farther and farther away from her freedom. Maybe I could make a break for the front door?

From the corner of her eye she saw his fingers flex and inch towards her forearm. His pace had slowed until he no longer strode ahead of her, but instead walked side-by-side. Getting dragged down a hallway by a man who didn't even smile was very high on her list of things not to do. Ack, baby animals, baby animals! Nice aftershave did not necessarily equal a nice personality. Slowly his hand drifted back to his side.

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Kaoru had just about had it. She'd gone through her alphabetical baby animals list at least four times, along with her baby animal by size list, and she didn't think she could take it any more.

In the lying race she was a sprinter. Very dangerous and successful over short distances, yes, but her face wasn't made for marathon lies! Plus she was still hyper from her fountain drink. This being-with-another-person-yet-still-being-silent thing was killing her.

Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, Kaoru fidgeted, drumming her finger against her leg nervously. Perhaps it was ruining all of her `baby animal' effort, but she wasn't sure he'd bought it anyway. Oh, screw it.

“My name's Kaoru, by the way, if you were wondering.” He looked over at her, but kept on walking. Kaoru mentally tightened her belt. One empty look wouldn't keep her down. “May I ask what's yours?”

His lips parted slightly in what might have been a miniature sigh. A few seconds later he answered, “Shinomori Aoshi, head of security.” Okay, not very comforting, Kaoru thought with a bubble of dread.

“I'm really very sorry about this,” Kaoru apologized again. “I swear I didn't take or break anything” I wish I could swear I didn't fix anything either, “so if you could please let me go, or at least let me call my friend, we had an appointment for lunch, you see, I'd be really grateful.”

“Hn,” was Mr. Shinomori's only reaction.

Kaoru, not fluent in male grunt-speak, was still trying to figure out an appropriate reply when they finally reached their destination. The office held a number of expensive looking desks and chairs, along with several green, leafy potted plants. A quick visual sweep of the room showed that they were the only occupants. For a moment Kaoru had feared that she might be questioned by a crowd.

Another closed door at the back must have led to a private room. She really hoped it wasn't a jail cell. Most of the desks were covered in stacks of folders and random knickknacks. However, the desk he directed her toward was almost severely plain. It was bare except for an ink blotter, a square steel paperweight, and a small fern in a bright blue pot painted with yellow sunflowers.

Mr. Shinomori pulled an uncomfortable looking wooden chair away from the wall and placed it in front of the stark-looking desk. Any man who kept such a happy looking pot on his desk couldn't be all bad, she decided optimistically.

“Sit,” he ordered coldly. It wasn't the words he used, but the way he said them that changed Kaoru's mind and made her want to shrivel up and disappear. Slowly she sat down, all the while desperately trying not to look over at the closed door in the back.

Bunching the hem of her shirt in her hands, she tried to label the door as something innocuous. After all, it could just be a bathroom. Her cold nervousness disappeared as she remembered the euphoria of magical warmth bubbling in her veins. Yes, it had to be a bathroom. Maybe it was even one of those fancy private bathrooms with a lounge chair for breastfeeding mothers.

Stifling a smile at her ridiculous thoughts, Kaoru smoothed her hands down her thighs before folding them in her lap. Sneaking a peak at Mr. Shinomori, she saw him making his way around the desk to sit down.

Like any mother would want her baby around a man like that! With one intimidating glare he would dry up her milk and then where would her hungry baby be? Coughing into her hand to conceal her laughter, Kaoru got her expression under control just as he sat down in his chair. She feared she might be a little drunk on the magic. Hopefully she wouldn't say anything she might regret later.

“Now,” Mr. Shinomori began, “why don't you tell me what happened, starting from when you first entered the estate and going until-” he paused and glared at the fern in its yellow and blue pot. Somehow, he must have only just noticed it. Lips thinning in displeasure, he picked the plant up and practically hurled it at another desk across the room. Kaoru tensed in expectation of hearing a loud crash as it shattered. Miraculously, the pot only bounced once on the surface of the desk before wobbling to a stop against a stack of bubblegum pink folders, perfectly intact.

With awed eyes, Kaoru turned back and looked at him. A crease formed between his brows when he saw her glance. However, his voice sounded completely bland as he continued his prompting, “And going until I found you coming out of the weapons room.”

In reply, Kaoru's stomach gurgled. Great, not only am I detained and having crazy euphoric mood swings, but now I'm also hungry. Smiling apologetically, Kaoru began to spin a tale of going through a doorway to look at a vase, losing her tour group, and wandering around until she found the weapons room again and Mr. Shinomori leaning in the hallway outside. No mention was made of fountains, gardens, or disappearing hallways. When she finished, she looked into his guarded eyes and prayed that he'd bought it.

“Hn,” he said again. A full minute of silence passed as Kaoru fidgeted in her chair. Finally he spoke, “You need to be searched for anything you might have stolen, and then I have a few more questions.”

“I would never-!” Kaoru was in the midst of exclaiming when a white-bearded man wearing a red bandana bounced into the office.

“Well hello, you must be the lost lamb.” The older gentleman said in a kind tone of voice. “I hope you're alright.”

“Why yes, thank you,” she replied politely in surprise.

Before she could say any more, Mr. Shinomori interrupted her. “Okina, call Omasu or Okon in. I need Ms. Kamiya to be searched.”

Wait, I never told him my last name, Kaoru thought in consternation. How did he…? Oh, right, the signup sheet at the museum.

“Sorry, but all of the girls are out on a job,” apologized the courtly Okina. “However, I would love to search the pretty young lady. I promise to do a… thorough job, hehehe.” A perverted smile suddenly stretched across Okina's face.

Kaoru jumped out of her chair and backed away. “I really didn't take anything, I swear!” Okina inched closer. “If you lay one finger on me I'm going to bite it off, respect for the elderly be damned,” Kaoru warned as she raised her hands defensively.

A hand suddenly grabbed the back of Okina's collar and flung him across the room. The old man gracefully twisted in midair and landed in a crouch. “Okina,” Mr. Shinomori bit out, “doesn't your charge need a reprimand for today's disaster?” Before the echoes of Mr. Shinomori's voice had faded, the old man had disappeared.

“I apologize for my associate,” Mr. Shinomori said in a tone of voice that could almost be labeled as embarrassed, “while perverted, he's also amazingly proficient and generally quite kind to guests.”

“Right,” Kaoru responded grudgingly. “I'd really just like to leave, please.”

“I'm sorry, but I must insist you be searched first.” Kaoru's mouth set into mulish lines at his words. “I promise that it will be completely professional.” Mr. Shinomori looked directly into Kaoru's eyes and vowed, “On my honor.”

Blowing her bangs off of her forehead, Kaoru gave in to his steely gaze. “Very well, but the minute I think you're trying to cop a feel I'm going to hit first and ask questions later, clear?”

“As long as you accept that I do have to touch you to search you,” he answered.

Nodding her head, she allowed him to lean her against the wall and begin searching her body. There were a few times she tensed up and almost swung, but his touch always stayed impersonal, and he warned her of each new area before his hands swept over it. In the end, he found nothing but lint, candy wrappers, and the head of a weed that had broken off in the garden and stuck to the back of her shirt. Luck was with her when he tossed the plant into the trash after only a brief examination.

“Please sit back down,” he asked more politely. Before he could begin his next round of questions, they heard a sudden commotion out in the hallway. It sounded like a protesting male voice combined with the click-clack of a confident woman walking in high heels.

A moment later a blatantly embarrassed man wearing a security uniform appeared in the doorway. “I'm sorry, sir. I tried to get rid of her but-”

Two hands with nails painted cherry red popped into view and pushed the man out of the way. Storming through the doorway strode a strikingly beautiful woman dressed in a doctor's smock and designer heels. “Kaoru!” the woman exclaimed as she rushed over to Kaoru's side and began checking for signs of mistreatment.

“Megumi, Megumi, I'm fine.” Grabbing the doctor's hands, Kaoru met her concerned chestnut eyes, “Honestly.”

Grabbing Kaoru's shoulders, Megumi pulled her into a quick hug. Then she stood up and leaned against the side of Kaoru's chair, crossing her arms haughtily. “Is she being charged with something?” Megumi asked Mr. Shinomori. The embarrassed guard hovered in the doorway.

“No, we were just finishing up some questions,” he replied.

Kaoru huffed out a breath, feeling more confident with Megumi's warm weight pressing into her shoulder. “I've already told you everything. I got lost, that's it. You've seen for yourself that I didn't steal anything, and if I'd broken anything the people you sent out to look for me would have found it.” That last part was a guess, but she remembered him mentioning something about, `we looked, but couldn't find you.' “I just want to leave.”

Keeping his same unruffled tone, he said, “You can leave after my questions have been satisfied.”

Megumi cleared her throat and uncrossed her arms, placing one warm hand on Kaoru's shoulder. “I'm afraid we're going to have to insist on leaving now. As she is not being charged for merely getting lost, and as she has completely cooperated in helping you to establish that no property was damaged, the charter law clearly states in article four that she should be free to leave.”
The tick of Megumi's watch where it rested on Kaoru's shoulder sounded loud in her ear as she waited for Mr. Shinomori's reaction. Finally he spoke, “You have quoted the law correctly, but do not believe this to be over until I have stated as much.” Flicking his eyes to the man waiting in the doorway, he continued, “Officer Kojima will lead you out.”

Relief flooded through Kaoru in a torrent that left her knees momentarily too limp to stand. “Thank you, Mr. Shinomori. I really am sorry for the trouble.” Hoping he was placated, Kaoru stood up and followed Megumi and Officer Kojima from the room.

As they walked down the corridor, Kaoru asked Megumi how she had known to come.

“You were late for lunch,” Megumi accused.

“I know, sorry,” Kaoru apologized. As grateful as she was for Megumi's rescue, a hungry Megumi meant bad news for everyone in her way, and now only Kaoru was left.

“Humph, well, when you didn't show up I had a hunch and called museum security. Imagine how surprised I was when they not only recognized your name, but told me you were being held by Shinomori Aoshi, the head of security for the entire Battousai Empire! You haven't even been here for twenty-four hours and already you're famous!”

Kaoru winced at the heavy sarcasm. “I'm sure people get lost all of the time. They probably just overreacted.” They continued talking as they exited the mansion and climbed into a dented dark green car smelling of stale take-out food.

Megumi snorted elegantly as she buckled her seatbelt. “Note that I had to borrow this car from a friend so I could rush to your rescue, and for your information it was a male friend that I really did not want to owe a favor.”

“Ooh, is this that rooster-head you're always complaining about? The one with the cute butt? The one who-” the force of Megumi's glare convinced Kaoru to keep further comments to herself, at least until she was out of range of Megumi's claws.

“After discovering your location,” Megumi continued loudly, “I rushed right over, and it looks like it's a good thing I did.” She sent a suspicious glance in Kaoru's direction, but held her tongue until they were several blocks away from the Battousai Estate. “You lied about something and that man knew it. What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?”

Swallowing painfully, Kaoru was tempted to protest that none of it had been on purpose. Opening her mouth, she froze as she wondered where to begin. Megumi was her best friend. She should tell her the truth. “I did lie, and I will tell you why, but not in the car. Why don't we pick up some food and go back to your apartment? I promise I'll tell you then.” Food might help the truth seem more plausible, or at least blunt Megumi's temper.

“Very well,” Megumi grudgingly consented, “but you are buying what is now considered DINNER.”

Kaoru agreed gratefully, “Done.”

Megumi called a noodle shop on her cell phone to order. They picked the food up, with Kaoru slipping in a last minute dessert, and drove home. In an attempt to ignore the appetizing aromas drifting out of the paper cartons, Kaoru asked Megumi a question that had been on her mind since leaving Mr. Shinomori's office. “Megumi, how did you know which article of charter to quote?”

A foxy laugh escaped Megumi as she drove. “When I first moved to the city, I flirted with the idea of becoming a lawyer instead of a doctor. Then I figured out that I enjoyed flirting with the lawyers more than actually studying to be one, so I switched back to medicine. Some of it stuck, though.” Kaoru laughed. “Besides, it comes in handy with delinquent friends.”

“Hey!” protested Kaoru.

Ignoring her, Megumi continued speaking, “Who would have thought that the great Takani Megumi would ever have delinquent friends, plural? It's a sad world we live in.”

Pulling up in front of Megumi's building, they parked and carried the food up to her fourth floor apartment. As they ate their noodles, Kaoru haltingly unfolded the tale of her adventure with getting lost and finding the fountain, skimming quickly over the panic that had induced her discovery of the secret passageway in the first place. At the end of her tale, Kaoru answered as best she could Megumi's questions about the garden and Kaoru's reaction to the magic. Exhausted, she hoped they were finally done.

Instead, Megumi launched one more question about the part Kaoru had hoped she'd forgotten. “The panic hasn't gone away, has it? You told me that the fear had stopped,” Megumi accused. “You told me it had gotten better.”

“It has gotten better,” Kaoru defended. “I couldn't even go outside at first, remember? But now I'm fine in small groups, it was just getting trapped against the wall by a bunch of tall, sweaty boys. Anyone would find that unpleasant.”

Sighing, Megumi seemed to accept her explanation for now. “Just don't lie to me about it again.”

Kaoru contritely agreed, “I won't, I promise.”

“Fine, but one last question. Now, tell me truthfully-” Kaoru waited anxiously for Megumi's query. Her tone of voice sounded so serious. “If those sweaty boys had been shirtless and facing you instead of turned away, would you still have found it unpleasant?”

It took Kaoru a moment to process what Megumi had just said, but once she did, she let out a war cry and launched a violent pillow attack. Ten minutes later, the two of them lay on their backs breathing heavily.

“Ha,” Kaoru panted, “teach you to mess with me again.”

“Come over here and say that to my face,” gasped Megumi from her position on the other side of the coffee table.

“Oh yeah? I can still take you, even with one hand tied behind my back,” Kaoru taunted breathlessly, flinging one hand over her head to prove her point. Unfortunately, her flailing fist bumped into the coffee table and knocked over the precariously balanced container of hazelnut chocolate sauce that had come with their dessert.

“My white carpet!” exclaimed Megumi.

“Don't worry,” Kaoru soothed, “I think it all landed on my shirt.”

Megumi sighed, “Oh good.”

Kaoru looked up at where a giant-looking Megumi was standing over her prone body, wiping off the remaining puddle on the table, and giggled. “Help, I don't think I can get up without spilling!”

It took some skillful maneuvering, but with the aid of a strategically placed dishtowel they managed to finally make it safely into the kitchen. When they realized that holding the shirt out from Kaoru's body and squirting it off into the sink was only making more of a mess, they decided to just take it off. It took delicate handling to carefully slide the shirt off Kaoru's head without getting any chocolate into her hair. Still, its removal did leave a film of hazelnut chocolate on her nose and cheeks. “If only my tongue were longer,” Kaoru bemoaned jokingly.

“At least your bra survived. Is that black silk embroidered with, are those jasmine flowers? My, my, Kaoru, I had no idea you were that kind of girl.” Megumi laughed foxily as Kaoru's face flushed red.

Crossing her arms huffily, but carefully because they were wet and still had flecks of chocolate sauce here and there, Kaoru rejoined, “Well, we all know what kind of girl you are without even having to see your underwear!”

“Yes, a girl with class,” she replied without missing a beat. “Go wash your face off in the bathroom sink,” Megumi ordered into Kaoru's fuming silence. “I'll finish rinsing your shirt off here.”

Stalking into the bathroom, Kaoru grabbed Megumi's personal washcloth, take that, and washed the splatters of chocolate off her arms. Then she cupped the water into her hands and splashed her face several times, scrubbing gently to remove the chocolate residue. Blindly, she scrabbled at the wall until she found a terrycloth towel to dry off her face.

Twisting side-to-side in the mirror, she checked to see that all of the chocolate had been washed off. She yawned tiredly at her reflection and removed the elastic from her hair. This entire day had been exhausting, but at least it was over now. Scrubbing her hands against her scalp, she wondered if Megumi would mind if she took a shower.

A sudden loud knocking interrupted her musings. Peeking her head out the bathroom door, Kaoru heard a soft masculine voice say something, and Megumi reply in an upset tone of voice. Kaoru refused to cower in the bathroom if there was trouble, but she was dressed only in pants and a bra.

Her suitcase was still in the living room, so she couldn't get a shirt from there. There was also no way to make it into Megumi's room without being seen. What a horribly constructed apartment! she thought in frustration.

Glancing around the bathroom, she realized that she had two options: the wet towel or Megumi's blue satin bathrobe. Kaoru didn't need more than a split-second to decide. Slipping into the slinky bathrobe, she quickly tied the sash and dashed into the living room. It was only when Megumi came out of the entryway that Kaoru realized that the hallway's sharp turn by the front door would have concealed most of the living room from view, including her suitcase. Already committed, she decided to brazen it out, even if her slippery sash was starting to come untied.

Tightening the knot again, Kaoru stepped forward and asked, “Is there a problem?” Megumi stomped into the room with compressed lips and an angry face. In one red-tipped hand she clenched a snow-white envelope bearing several impressive seals. A breathtakingly handsome man that Kaoru assumed from his manner to be either a messenger or a servant followed humbly at her heels.

When Kaoru crossed her arms, his lilac-colored eyes immediately latched onto her satin-clad body. For a second she saw his face fiercely burn with some exultant emotion. Stumbling back, she felt the air seize in her throat. Who was he? In the blink of an eye, his mild features returned and he turned to Megumi. Kaoru decided that she had just imagined it.

“As you can see from the letter, there is no mistake,” he explained. “As per article nine, section twenty-six of the charter, Kamiya Kaoru has been claimed by the Battousai Estate.” Kaoru felt the blood drain from her face as she clenched her hands into the satin robe. “It is all very clear and aboveboard.” He turned to face Kaoru, “If you would gather your things and come with me. Kaoru.” The way his voice paused before caressed the syllables of her name sent a shudder through Kaoru's body. For a moment she wondered if being claimed would be such a bad thing.

“No,” Megumi denied in a ringing voice as she paced across the living room reading an official looking document, waking Kaoru from her momentary bedazzlement. “No, there is a way out of this. There has to be.”

“I'm sorry,” he said gently but forcefully, “the laws are quite clear.”

Stopping in mid-pace, Megumi flung the letter at the messenger, twirled around, and marched over to Kaoru. The red-haired messenger effortlessly caught the letter and refolded it. Meanwhile, Megumi had wrapped her arm firmly around Kaoru's waist, manicured nails digging slightly into Kaoru's side. “You said article nine, which means that according to subsection twent-” Megumi's face twisted in up in intense concentration, “twenty-two, you can't have her.” She smiled victoriously, “It states that if the aforementioned person is already another citizen's contracted spouse or concubine, he or she cannot be claimed by an outside house. Kaoru is my concubine.”

After making this startling announcement, Megumi grabbed Kaoru's chin in her red-painted fingertips and kissed her. Shock froze Kaoru's eyes open wide. She'd never kissed a girl before, had never even thought of it. She and Megumi were good friends, but in a purely platonic way! It took a pinch from the sharp nails curled around her waist to prompt Kaoru to snap her eyes shut.

Although Megumi was a disturbingly good kisser, Kaoru couldn't relax. In matters of intimacy, Kaoru had always been very private. Only shock and the thought of being claimed like a thing kept her immobile. However, as the kiss went on she wasn't sure what embarrassed her more: the fact that it was the first time she'd ever been kissed by a girl, or the fact that the sexy, red-headed servant was watching them kiss.

Kaoru was starting to feel light-headed from lack of air. She could also tell that the knot of her belt had come loose again. At last, Megumi pulled back with an audible smack of parting lips. Rotating to face the messenger head-on, Megumi waited for his reaction.

His sculpted face was perfectly blank, but some powerful emotion roiled and seethed beneath the skin. “An… interesting demonstration. Nonetheless, you are going to have to come down to city hall and furbish corroborating documentation before you are to be believed. Several forms of waiver will also have to be signed,” he courteously explained, though there was something wild in his eyes didn't match his tone of voice.

“Fine,” Megumi snapped with the light of battle in her eyes. “Let's go.” Snatching up her designer jacket and purse, she marched to the door. The lilac-eyed servant meekly followed. Kaoru only relaxed when she heard the click of the lock around the bend of the hall.

The sash to her satin bathrobe had slithered onto the floor during Megumi's kiss, but Kaoru was still too stunned to bend over and pick it up. Tightening her arms around her body to close the robe's gap, she nibbled nervously on her lower lip. Outside the window, she saw Megumi get into an expensive looking black car that almost looked on fire in the reflected orange light of the setting sun.

For some reason, the silhouette of the man holding Megumi's door looked off. It wavered like a reflection on the surface of a river, one moment seeming to be the messenger she'd just met and the next almost disappearing. The messenger closed Megumi's door, looked up at Kaoru, and smirked. Then his image began wavering again and blinked out of existence. Kaoru felt herself gaping.

A rustle of paper from the empty room at her back made Kaoru twist away from the window, startled. On the other side of the couch stood the auburn-haired servant, hand poised over the glass coffee table where he'd just dropped the letter he had come to deliver, the letter claiming her as his to take. Blazing gold eyes clashed with blue, and Kaoru felt the very air quiver. He had never left. The sound of the lock turning had been this man locking them in and everyone else out.

This was no servant, this was the master himself!

TO BE CONTINUED

Dictionary:

Bokken - wooden sword

Naginata - a curved blade mounted at the end of a staff, somewhat similar to a European halberd or glaive

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