Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Vampire-istic ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

So, this is my newest creation. Special thanks to Neil for ideas and criticism. You're still going to die when I see you though. Alright, read, review, and yeah. Reviews are good…

Italics are thoughts, anything within __________*****__________ is a flashback.

~*~*~*~*~

Kenshin sighed as he felt the approaching ki of Aoshi. The two had become sentinels of the city during the nocturnal hours. Many werewolves and blood sucking vampires had met their doom at their hand. Aoshi sat down on the cool roofing tiles and inclined his head in Kenshin's direction. "They should be about 26 by now," he said, referring to Kaoru and Misao, who had been reborn. Kenshin merely grunted in reply and continued to survey the city. In truth, Kenshin knew this fact and had to constantly restrain himself from hunting his Kaoru down and making her his for all eternity.

Aoshi shifted his weight as he felt the ki of several werewolves nearby. He exchanged glances with Kenshin, and then they both jumped off the roof, landing as silently as two cats. They began walking in the direction of the werewolves, both knowing that the full moon wasn't to arrive for many more nights. The damn things must have vials of pure blood around their necks. They proved more difficult to kill since the killer had to smash the vial before trying to kill the werewolf, if not, well...it wouldn't be pretty. Kenshin and Aoshi increased their pace as they felt the werewolves begin moving faster. Some prey must have been sighted. Damn, tonight was not going to be a good night for them, it wasn't even midnight and they already had a pack of werewolves on their hands. Lovely.

The duo met up with the pack on a street corner. The prey, two teenage girls, continued to run away, seeing the blood lust in their "saviors" eyes as well as the werewolves. Kenshin spoke, "Leave this place, or meet your doom." The werewolves snarled in response. Kenshin and Aoshi moved, as quickly as the wind and killed half of the pack. The remainder of the pack fled in terror, tails between their legs. The two vampires shook the thick blood from the swords before replacing them. They stalked silently back into the shadows and to the next fight.

~*~*~*~*~

Sano and Megumi sat in their living room, encircled in each other's arms. "Kenshin is really getting to be very aggressive," said Sano conversationally. Both vampires knew that Kenshin was gearing up for something, but they would only be told in due time, something Sano and Megumi hated. Megumi snuggled deeper into the embrace before answering.

"Yes, this could be very difficult. We all know that Kaoru has been reborn. Maybe it has something to do with her."

"Let's hope that Jou-chan has been a good girl and is staying out of trouble," responded Sano before nuzzling Megumi's neck.

~*~*~*~*~

Misao stood at the bottom of the flight of stairs, waiting for Kaoru to finish looking their dorm room door. As Kaoru moved down the stairs, Misao turned to leave, knowing that Kaoru would quickly catch up.

"What class do you have?" asked Kaoru of Misao.

"Law Enforcement somethin or other. Don't really remember, but it should prove interesting," was Misao's cheeky response.

"I have that class tomorrow afternoon. Let me know if I should worry," Kaoru said, stepping off the sidewalk to avoid a young man with a bicycle running her over. Both of the girls were majoring in law enforcement, both were planning on joining the elite police force of the underworld. This, of course, required good grades and fighting skills, both of which the girls possessed in abundance.

"I'm glad this is the last semester we have to deal with tests and college in general," Misao stated. "Now we can start working, which doesn't sound like all it's cracked up to be."

"We've been working for this since junior high, Misao. Now is not the time to be giving up. Just remember, a few more weeks of this, and then we can move onto training camp," Kaoru responded confidentially.

"Heh, that'll be a joy," was Misao's response.

"You sound very excited Misao, you might want to lay off the caffeine for a while," Kaoru said sarcastically. The duo had reached their designated classrooms and parted ways; both girls had a feeling of dread, something most college students are very used to.

~*~*~*~*~

Kenshin returned to his apartment shortly after dawn. It had been a long night tracing the activities of various organizations, both human and underworld. He sat down on his couch, his eyes burning in an unnatural amber.

Kaoru. So many years have passed by, and to think our paths will cross soon. Perhaps even by chance.

Kenshin's phone began to ring; he inclined his head towards it and allowed the answering machine to do its duty.

"Kenshin! Kenshin! I know you're there, pick up damnit. Fine, don't answer the damn phone. Underworld forces are starting to gather. We need to have a meeting. I've already left a message with Aoshi. Call me back damnit," Sano's angry voice could be heard, his message riddled with cussing and terse orders that would never be fulfilled. Kenshin stood and moved to the kitchen, he opened a container of leftover miso soup and shoved it in the microwave. He punched in a decent amount of time and slammed the door shut again. His mind was working quickly, over the thought of Kaoru and also over Sano's slightly alarming message. The microwave beeped and Kenshin punched the button for the door to open, only to find the soup had splattered, covering the inside of the machine. Damn, this is not going to be a good day.

~*~*~*~*~

Freya sat in the chair uneasily, watching the leader of the organization stalk about angrily. "We've got to make a move, why haven't you done anything?" the leader berated Freya needlessly. Her division of the organization had done the most work of any other division. Both of them knew this. "You've accepted the responsibility and it's time to live up to that!" the man continued on. When will this insufferable man shut up? I'm not the one that should be hearing this. It's not my fault the whole underworld detective agency setup isn't up his alley. Stupid bastard. "Get to work!" was the last thing Freya heard before she stood from her chair and left the office in a storm.

"That should teach her to do her job correctly," the leader said rather nervously. He had seen the tinge of brilliant amber in her eyes before she had left in a swirl of trench coat.

Freya returned to her office and sat her desk, rubbing her temples lightly. Stupid idiot! This is not my department. Her raging thoughts continued until a lunatic banging on the door interrupted her.

"Come the hell in!" came her angered shout.

"Ma'am, sorry to interrupt you, but we've got a situation. One of the undercover agents just got back. He's pretty shaken up-" the young man said before Freya swept out of her office and to the main office that was filled with desks. A crowd surrounded a young man who was bleeding from a wound in his thigh.

"So Sergeant, I take it you ran into a bit of trouble," the Captain began. "Let's go to my office, my secretary can take care of your wound and we can discuss this matter," Freya said while helping the man from his chair. The short walk down a hall was almost too much for the man. His wound, which had quit bleeding for the most part, had reopened and was now bleeding in earnest. Freya helped him into one of her chairs and grabbed a couple towels from a cabinet near the sink. She called to her secretary to come help her out. Upon further inspection of the wound, it didn't look to be too severe; it would leave a nasty scar though. A badge of honor.

"Ma'am, sorry about this. Enishi is gathering forces, the damn vampire! He's already recruited a score of werewolves, most boosted by blood vials, and a smattering of vampires," the Sergeant reported before being cut off by his superior officer, Captain Takimoto Freya.

"So basically, humanity is screwed. Damn Enishi. He's become some insufferable bastard with nothing better than world domination or some other such crock on his mind." The Sergeant watched nervously as his captain continued to fume and rant. Obviously this was not the day to discover that Enishi was up to his old tricks again. He only knew of the again because he had heard various rumors circulating the office about Enish during the Meiji Era.

"Sorry Sergeant, it's been a rough decade. Anyway, anything else to report before I send you on your way to the hospital to get properly patched up?"

"No Ma'am. Thank you for the bandaging."

"Think nothing of it. Dismissed."

Sometimes working for the Underworld's only detective agency has its downfalls. I suppose I should go tell our fearless leader of this discovery. Nah.

Freya sat down at her organized desk and started leafing through a thick file. Finding the necessary sheet of information, she pulled it out and placed a phone call.

"Seta? This is Captain Takimoto. Do you have an approximate date on those two girls' graduation? Yes? Good," upon hearing that, she hung up the phone with a clunk. "Ah, so the two prodigies will finally find a nest to roost in. And who said Soujiro wouldn't recognize their worth?"

~*~*~*~*~

6 months later

Kaoru and Misao sighed as they walked away from the football stadium, both still dressed in their graduation robes.

"Glad the weather was nice, having 3000 people crammed into a tiny auditorium would have been a bit too memorable for me," Kaoru said jokingly.

Misao nodded in agreement before spotting a tall young woman dressed in a solid black outfit, complete with a trench coat. "Don't remember her being in the stadium," she commented conversationally before turning down the sidewalk away from her. Kaoru glanced at the woman and agreed.

The aforementioned woman pushed herself away from the post she had been leaning against and started to follow the two newly graduated girls. Seta's prodigies. Don't look like much do they?

Kaoru turned at a shout of greeting from a friend. She quickly turned back to Misao after a quick wave and informed her hurriedly. "Creepy lady is following us."

"Maybe she's in the mood for a fight," Misao replied gamely.

The woman had quickened her pace and managed to step in front of them. They were now in the middle of the nearly deserted parking lot. Their only other companions were about ten cars scattered throughout.

"Kamiya Kaoru, Makimachi Misao, I have a proposition for you."

"What is it?" replied Kaoru tersely, eyeing the woman cautiously.

"The Underworld Protective Agency is in search of your services."

"You couldn't just call us or send an email?" Misao questioned, having assumed an attack stance.

"I don't recommend attacking me."

"And why the hell not?" Kaoru asked, having also assumed an attack stance.

"Because you might feel a bit embarrassed having to see your boss in the hall after you've attacked her."

"Who the hell are you?" Misao questioned, clearly tired of this little game.

"CaptainTakimoto, head of the Reconnaissance division of the UPA."

The two women stared in awe, Takimoto Freya was a commonly discussed officer, though few knew what she actually looked like. The woman standing in front of them was usually thought of as a myth.

Freya looked at them incredulously. "Surprised? Your skills precede you by far. The head of the Human Resources department couldn't wait to get his hands on you. Not literally of course."

"You want to recruit us to work with you?" screeched Misao excitedly.

"Forgive her, she's had too much coffee studying for finals," Kaoru commented dryly, her excitement no less contained than her exuberant friend's.

"Your grades are stellar, you've already surpassed the basic requirements of physical fitness in my department. I would be stupid not to want to recruit you. However, if you are not interested in working with the UPA, then I can leave," Takimoto said, turning to leave just slightly enough for the girls to practically beg her to stay.

"NO!" the girls screeched in unison.

"I take it you're interested." Well that's putting it mildly Takimoto.

"Of course we are, do you take us for idiots?" asked Kaoru incredulously.

"Not completely," answered the Captain. "If the two of you are still interested, come by my office tomorrow at 8 o'clock sharp. Talk to the girl at the front desk, she'll show you to my office. Her name is Tsubame. We'll discuss your training and qualifications. Don't worry about Human Resources, I've already taken care of that."

"We'll be there," Kaoru said confidently. She turned slightly to look at Misao to check with her. She turned back to face the Captain, only to discover that she had vanished. Strange.

~*~*~*~*~

Kenshin stood outside of Sano and Megumi's apartment. Should I knock? Before he could answer his own question, the door was flung open, revealing Megumi.

"Ken-san! So good to see you, come in, come in!"

Damn ki sensing. Kenshin walked into the apartment and sat hesitantly on the couch. "So what's this about Enishi and underworld forces gathering?" he asked of Sano.

"I think it would be best to wait for Aoshi," Sano replied. Kenshin settled back into the couch with a sigh. Hurry up Shinomori.

Aoshi came to the door of the apartment with a sigh. He knocked before trying the knob, only to see that the door was open. He stepped into the apartment and glanced around. "Am I late?" his honey smooth voice asked, clearly unconcerned.

"Almost," Kenshin replied testily. His patience these days had worn down to a fine edge. Kaoru still had power over him, even if she hadn't met him in this lifetime.

Aoshi sat in an overstuffed chair across from Kenshin and waited for Sano to start talking. Sano, of course, liked having the upper hand and sat there glancing between the two swordsmen. Megumi, clearly fed up with the whole situation, started the conversation.

"Enishi's forces are gathering. He's already got twenty werewolves, and about ten vampires. Of course, that's nothing compared to our strength. He will gather more, that much we all know. However, what he is gathering forces for is still unknown. Sano and I have sources out gathering more info."

"We all knew this would happen, it is nothing new," Aoshi stated simply, he was clearly unconcerned. Only on the outside of course. In truth, Enishi and his schemes had been getting more and more creative through the decades. It was something none of the assembled looked forward to; no matter how many times he was beaten, he still came back for more. Stupid idiot.

"Are we taking him out early this time, or should we let him rise to a bit of control. I prefer the whole let-him-rise-a-bit plan, it's more of a challenge," Sano babbled.

"This time we have to make sure Enishi doesn't get his hands on Kaoru and Misao. They will be a top priority," Kenshin said pointedly.

Megumi shifted slightly on the couch, "I hadn't thought of that. Leave it so you Ken-san, you think of everything." She paused as she said this. Kenshin still blamed himself for Kaoru's death in her previous life. It was still a very delicate subject.

__________*****__________

Kenshin walked back to the Kamiya Dojo, as he opened up the gate, the sight that met him was drastically unpleasant. Yahiko lay sprawled in the dust, a rust colored stain across the back of his gi.

"Yahiko!" Kenshin yelled, rushing towards the fallen boy.

"Ken..shin…I..am fine…Help Kao-" Yahiko was unable to finish his sentence before he fainted from blood lose. Kenshin quickly bound the boy's slash on his back. He turned to the dojo and hurried to the shoji. He slid it open only to find every appear normal. His hand came to rest on the hilt of his katana. He walked into the kitchen, to find Kaoru laying in a pool of her own blood. He hurriedly knelt down beside her and shook her gently.

"Kaoru-dono, Kaoru-dono, wake up!" came his cries. Kaoru's eyes fluttered slightly and opened to find his violet eyes swirled with amber.

"Ken…shin…I..am..sorry…" Kaoru managed to breathe out before her eyes shut for the final time.

"KAORU!" Kenshin screamed out, his pain made evident. He looked at her one final time. She had been run through by a katana. Only one would have done it. Enishi, you will suffer for this.

__________*****__________

"Ken-san, are you alright?" Megumi asked, Kenshin was still sitting on the couch with a far away look in his eyes. He blinked away the glassiness and turned to look at Megumi. She was stunned at the dark amber that burned in the depths of his eyes. His normal amber tinged violet had vanished.

"We will take care of Enishi as soon as possible. Aoshi, use the Oniwabanshu to search for Misao and Kaoru. It is time for a reunion," Kenshin stated while standing from the couch. "Megumi, you might want to stock up on medical supplies," with that, he walked out the door.

"That's Kenshin for you, always the one to give out orders," Sano said, his tone no different than it always was. He turned to the phone to place a few calls. "Aoshi, you aren't the only one with sources."

"Hai," came Aoshi's short reply before he left the apartment in search of his sources.

~*~*~*~*~

Freya sat at her desk, it was only a quarter to eight, but already she felt antsy. Look at me, acting like an impatient child. Cool it Takimoto. She glanced at the pile of paperwork in her inbox. Might as well get some work down. Might help pass the time. She pulled the top most folder off the stack and read the post-it note attached to the front. "Files on Kamiya and Makimachi as requested." Freya bit back a squeal of delight as she flipped through the folder. Both girls had lost their entire family during their lifetime. The two had attended the same high school and college, and they had even roomed together. Breaking up this pair would prove stupid. I suppose that means that I'll have to train them myself. Great, some more headaches coming my way. A knock sounded from her door. Freya broke out into a smile before she contained herself and forced a passive expression on her face. "It's open," came her reply. The door opened revealing Kaoru and Misao. "Have a seat," Freya said. She glanced at her clock, it read 7:55. Good, they're early. "We have much to discuss today. First, your pay will be that of any other Recon agent, so don't worry about getting shafted for being a rookie. Next, we have the problem of training. I know you both have some experience with weapons, but practicing against humans and killing a werewolf are two different things. I think a rigorous schedule should have you up to speed fairly quickly."

"Um..Ms. Takimoto? I have a question," Misao said hesitantly, her awe of the Captain evident. The Captain herself reeked of authority. Her office was decorated in a dark mahogany with black accents. The woman, with her tall, slender frame could have been a model. Her black hair was streaked with red, and her dark blue, almost black, eyes were tinged with amber. Freya, dressed in loosely fitted pantsuit, could have been the poster woman for the Professional Women's Club, if there was one of course.

Freya nodded her head in response, apparently giving her permission to ask any question.

"Would Kaoru and I be working together, or would we be placed with more experienced officers or what?" Misao asked, her confidence restored in the fact that Takimoto was willing to answer questions.

"Well, you two have been together for a while, and separating you two when you can obviously predict each other fairly well would be insane. So, with that in mind, I've decided that you two would receive your training under me. It's not commonly done, but exceptions can be made," Freya answered easily. "Anymore questions?" At a negative response from the two girls, Freya continued on. "If you'd like, we could start weapons training this morning, then go into the more mundane subject of protocol and such crock this afternoon. We can always start tomorrow though. Oh, and you'll need to drop by Human Resources to sign some forms. They'll make sure that Finance knows to pay you."

Kaoru spoke after glancing at Misao. "We'd like to go ahead and start today. Would that be too much trouble?"

"Of course not! I'll just tell my secretary to cancel that meeting with Hajime, I wasn't looking forward to it anyway. So, off to the dojo we go. Let me see, I think we'll drop by my place for a moment, training in a pantsuit isn't really up my alley."

The three women walked out of the building and towards the parking garage. Freya quickly explaining that all of the employees parked here and as employees they would receive parking place as well. After a short trip a few blocks away, the trio came to Freya's apartment building.

"Come in," Freya said, unlocking the door to her top floor pad. The girls walked in and quickly realized that their fearless leader liked the color black. Freya's living room was tastefully decorated with black leather furniture with a glass coffee table and set of end tables. An exuberant Doberman pinscher, who greeted the Captain thoroughly before even glancing at the "intruders", quickly joined the women. The dog sniffed the girls' shoes before trotting off into what appeared to be a bedroom. Freya told the girls to make themselves at home and followed the dog before emerging seconds later with a duffel bag in hand. "Ready to hit the mats?" Freya queried amicably. The girls answered affirmatively before heading out the door and to the car.

Six hours later, the trio left the dojo, two of them clearly exhausted, and the third one appeared very pleased. After the drive to a nearby restaurant and an hour of dry discussion on protocol, the trio made their way to Human Resources. Freya knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer. "Seta, your duo awaits!" Freya cried in a hilarious tone. A young man poked his head up from his desk and walked briskly to the assembled three.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! I've been studying your test scores and progress for a number of years, it's nice to finally be able to meet you two formally. I'm Seta Soujiro, head of Human Resources, if you have a problem with something or someone within the UPA, you come talk to me," the chipper young man said, never loosing his smile.

"You have some forms for them to sign Seta?" the Captain said, obviously putting the man back on track.

"Oh yes! They're right here. I've already filled out the pertinent information that I already knew. You might want to check to make sure it's all correct, but I'm positive it is."

Does this man ever loose that damn smile of his? Kaoru thought angrily, staring at the forms in front of her. This man had done his homework, the only part of the form wasn't filled out was the present date and the signature line. The medical, personal, and educational part of the form had already been completely filled out. Kaoru didn't know whether to be merely concerned or scared to death. If this Seta knew all of this, what else did he know?

Misao was much in the same state. Her form had been filled out in complete detail, and nothing was missed. Having her appendix out when she was six was written down. The C she got in algebra in high school was also written down. Her personal section even noted the death of both of her parents. Misao and Kaoru exchanged glances, the meaning was clearly understandable. How in hell did they know all of this?

"I think you should know that you two took a test your first year of high school. That test provided us with information that led us to want to recruit you. After we discovered that you were entering college on a Law Enforcement major, we decided to wait and play our cards correctly. Don't be too concerned, we didn't pry into anything we shouldn't have," Takimoto said lightly. Seta sat behind his desk, still grinning, and nodded his head in agreement.

"We just got your grades, which somehow included your personal information. The Captain here asked me to have what I could filled out ahead of time, and after pouring over your files for about an hour, I was able to complete them," Soujiro said.

"Um…thanks?" Misao said, the sarcasm practically dripping from her voice.

"Anytime," Soujiro said gamely.

"So we just sign and we're outta here? Our pay is taken care of and stuff?" Kaoru asked.

"Yup, just sign on the dotted line and we can be out of here in no time," Freya said.

The girls picked up the pens laid out on Seta's desk and quickly signed their name, handed their sheet of paper back to him, and turned to the Captain.

"Suppose it's official. Welcome to the Underworld Protective Agency, I'll be your host for the duration of your stay in Reconnaissance."

~*~*~*~*~

Aoshi sat across from the assembled Oniwabanshu members. "We are looking for Misao and Kaoru. We know that by now they are out of college, find them and contact me immediately." With that said, the gathered left the room in a rush, each eager to find their long lost Misao. Kaoru, of course, was needed as well, however, she was merely the icing on the cake.

Still reclined in his chair, Aoshi stared at the empty space that was only moments ago filled with eager vampires anticipating the return of their former Okashira. Misao, I will not lose you again.

~*~*~*~*~

Freya had been training her new recruits for two weeks when she thought that they would be up to a bit of on the job training. Some contacts needed to be threatened, there was far too little information leaking into her division.

The trio arrived at the Sakura Club, after hardly a glance from the bouncer at the door; they entered the smoke filled club. Pounding music blared all around as vampires turned to stare at the three new beauties to enter their lair. Freya glanced around before located the desired contact. After briefly informing Misao and Kaoru to play along, she walked over; the sway in her hips seemed to mesmerize the watchful vampires.

"So, Aki, how are things goin?" Freya asked, sitting very close to the vampire, seemingly unaware that her long legs were within easy grasp.

"Oh, you know, up and down," was Aki's lust filled answer.

"I'm sure. Now, I've been looking for that Enishi again, it seems he forgot to pay his electric bill. Know anything?" Freya said, clearly getting down to business.

"Um..well, I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but maybe I can make an exception. I do require the correct sort of compensation though," the male said, clearly waiting for his "compensation", whatever that was. Kaoru and Misao glanced at each other, their looks clearly broadcasting that they didn't like how this conversation was going.

"Well, I've got some uh..Columbian dancing powder lyin around, would that be enough?" Freya said, waiting for Aki's response.

"Sure. Enishi's down by the docks. Somewhere around slip 57. When's the powder going to arrive?"

"Next week," Freya said, slipping from the couch and motioning for the two girls to follow her.

"You're giving him cocaine!" Misao screeched in outrage.

"Do you think I'm stupid? Of course not, I'd loose my job. It's powdered sugar mixed with some vanilla and dried. He seems to think that's cocaine. Whatever, the loser's never had cocaine in his life, so I could give him anything and he'd accept it. Ready to go for a boat ride?" Freya said, changing the subject effectively.

"Whatever," Kaoru responded, climbing into the backseat of the car.

The drive was silent until they reached the docks. Freya reached into the glove compartment and pulled out an automatic weapon and checked the clip. The silver bullets glinted in the moonlight. Freya motioned for the girls to get out of the car. Freya walked around to the back of the car and popped the trunk. Inside lay a veritable smorgasbord of weapons. She pulled a sheathed katana free from the disarray and slide it into her belt. She handed a container filled with kunai to Misao, who had expressed extreme talent with the throwing knives. Kaoru reached into the trunk and grabbed a shinai. The girl could beat the crap out of anything with that, she didn't need the added weight of a blade.

The Captain skirted the nearest warehouse in search of Enishi's hideout. After locating a warehouse guarded by heavily armed vampires, she made her way back to the girls.

"One building over, Enishi's got heavily armed guards. Vampire guards. Time to take them out. Let's go," with that, Takimoto turned and left, the girls following close behind. After rendering a total of twenty guards unconscious, they began to decide on a way inside. Freya merely wanted to monitor him, not storm in with guns blazing. She should have reconsidered that idea. After a quick poll, the three agreed on the plan of lifting Misao in through a window, since she was the smallest of the three and the quietest. Next, Kaoru would be helped in, followed by the Captain leaping through. The plan was going well until Freya jumped through the window. An unforeseen guard wandered through and shouted a warning to those around him. A kunai silenced his shouts, which only resulted in a search of the entire building. Freya managed to hide the two girls in an open wooden crate, shutting the top as quickly as possible. The shouts only continued as some other spy appeared to have been found. A woman's voice could be heard, yelling something about "finding them at the slip 57 warehouse".

~*~*~*~*~

Aoshi answered his ringing cell phone, hoping someone had found the girls. Okon's voice could be heard yelling "slip 57 warehouse" before the line went dead. After calling Kenshin and Sano, Aoshi rushed to his car after grabbing his trench coat and sheathed kodachi blades. A ten minute, hectic drive later, he met up with Kenshin, Sano, and Megumi.

"Ready?" Kenshin asked, his amber eyes glowing an unholy gold in the moonlight.

"Hai," was Aoshi's answer for the rest of the assembled.

They began the short walk to the warehouse Okon had mentioned when they noticed a black car, half hidden in the shadows. Kenshin and Aoshi exchanged glances before continuing to the building looming before them. After a brief jog around the building, they noticed twenty unconscious guards.

"Misao and Kaoru," Sano said appreciatively.

"Let's go," Kenshin said, starting for the nearest door. He cut the door before rushing inside. He killed the guards nearest him, they stood in a circle, surrounding a body. Okon. From out of seemingly nowhere, a flash of red and black beat him to the next group of guards. They lay dead in a growing pool of blood. Kenshin followed the glimpse of color to a stack of crates. He glanced at Sano, who nodded his head slightly indicating he had seen the person go there. Before Kenshin could inspect, he was attacked. He retaliated with a diagonal slash. Sword met sword, sliding down to the hilt. Before the opponents could even glance at each other, Kenshin flung himself away. An attack came from Freya; she had jumped into the air and had attempted an over-the-head decapitating slash to his head. Her success was unrealized. Kenshin blocked the attack moments before his head lay in a different area.

Aoshi, Sano, and Megumi had dealt with the few remaining guards with ease. They turned to watch the battle with a sense of respect for Kenshin's attacker. Few had ever lasted this long against the Battousai.

With a sudden move, Kenshin managed to slash a wound in Freya's thigh. She was momentarily caught off-guard, earning her a wound to her arm. She cried out in pain before vanishing yet again. Aoshi glanced at Kenshin and said one word, "Vampire."

Freya leaned against a crate, blood pouring from the wound on her arm and leg. Damnit, getting slow in my old age. She made her way slowly back to the crate that held Kaoru and Misao. Gotta protect them.

Kenshin felt around the warehouse with his ki, Enishi was no longer here. There was however someone he wanted to see. Kaoru. He walked quickly towards the row of crates that her ki denoted she was on.

Freya looked up quickly, her blue eyes swirling to a glowing gold. She caught sight of the crimson haired man that had wounded her. She drew her katana, ready to fight to the death.

Kenshin heard the sound of a blade being drawn and let his hand rest lightly on the hilt of his own. Freya leapt down from the top of the crates without a sound. Kenshin drew his katana and placed it in a guard position over his head. Sword met sword as amber eyes met amber eyes. Freya dropped her sword in shock, her red streaked midnight tresses swirling around her.

"Shinta?"

Kenshin blinked in surprise. How could this she-vampire possibly know his former name? He thought back to the days when he was a young boy, before he ever met Seijrio Hiko. Nothing came to mind, no little girl with black hair and amber eyes.

"Shinta, is it really you? It's me, Freya…don't you remember?"

The problem was, he didn't remember. This would take some thought. Suddenly, the vampire in front of him placed a hand to her arm. For the first time, he noticed that she was bleeding. So she was the one that had attacked him.

"My name is Kenshin," he said coldly, choosing to ignore her bleeding appendages. At that moment, Kaoru poked her head out of the crate, trying to decipher what was going on. Kenshin's gaze quickly swung. Amber met stormy blue.

"Kaoru," Kenshin breathed, his molten eyes swirling with possessiveness. Kaoru had backed into the crate, standing slightly in front of Misao.

"W-Who are you?" she questioned, her voice coming out in a breathy gasp. Who was this man whose gaze turned her legs to jelly?