Yahiko glared at the pigeon that sat so innocently in front of him on
the railing
Yahiko glared at the
pigeon that sat so innocently in front of him on the railing. That pigeon was
currently responsible for the mess that now littered the dojo lawn as they had
attempted to catch it.
Stupid animals that
carried messages that should never be allowed to wing their way to anywhere;
the fucking bird seemed to take far to much amusement in flapping around. It
was making them look stupid; Kaoru was going to beat their heads in when she
saw the mess.
That was, if Megumi
allowed her to crawl out of her room today, or any other day this week; in her
opinion, Kaoru should not even twitch until the Battousai said so.
Yahiko sighed as he
thought about what had occurred in the last few days. Kenshin feeding, then
feeding Kaoru, normally followed by her arguing with him or the silence that
always made him fear for her life.
A silence that was coming
from the dojo as he made another dive for the pigeon dodging Sano’s hands.
-------
As Kenshin lazily slumped
against the wall, he watched in growing amusement as Kaoru struggled against
impending fatigue, her fear nearly palatable.
Megumi was keeping Kaoru
flat on her back with the use of some highly potent herbs. They wouldn’t work
much longer, as Kaoru was gaining strength quickly, but they served their
purpose.
Fluidly he stalked her
form on the futon, relishing the tang of fear permeating the room. Her
exhausted, shocked body writhed against the coverlet in a vain attempt to
escape, and Kenshin felt his icy blood heat at the prospect of the hunt.
Stalking closer, he paused
but a hair’s breath from her shaking form, the heat of her body causing nerve
ends to tingle with anticipation at the feel of her Ki tracing his. Leaning
forward, he traced the rim of her ear with his lips as he spoke. “Pet,” the
contact with her flesh caused his fangs to burn in the cavern of his mouth,
“Perhaps you should… lay still.”
Kaoru froze in horror. He
was close. Too close, he was -once again- leaving her breathless and needy.
Kaoru twisted against his frame in an attempt to move, but a strong arm wrapped
around her waist. He had already forced her to eat once today, and Kaoru did
not relish discovering what he wanted now.
Kaoru stiffened at the
solid contact of his chest against her back. Her insides were twisting into a
delightful mix of fear, anticipation, and something she couldn’t name. Couldn’t
name the dance of curious sensation twisting in her veins or the pulse of want
in her blood.
“No.” Her voice was tinged
with a dark edge of rebellion, if only to distract herself from his light hold,
and the careless strength in both words and action.
Anything to distract her
from the humming in her veins.
Kenshin felt his lips
twist upwards into what appeared to be a hint of amusement, his golden eyes
glittering with a touch of fire and a trace of playfulness. “So stubborn.” His
voice had dropped in pitch and Kaoru stiffened in alarm, her pulse point
fluttering rapidly against her delicate skin.
Kaoru felt him shift her
again, her body pulled ruthlessly against his hard form, her legs tangling in
the sheets, leaving her sprawled against his chest.
Kenshin leaned forward,
his lips brushing the softness of her cheek, his mouth curving upward as her
fear brushed against his senses. “No, little one?” His eyes danced with sparks
of flame; Kaoru angled her head to stare, and froze in surprise at the look of
devilment in his gaze.
He was -playing- with her.
Kaoru shuddered as his
breath whispered across her skin, touching the sensitive skin along her lips.
Attempting to push weakly against his chest for any type of protection, she was
completely caught off guard by the hand that grasped her by the back of her
neck.
It yanked her forward, her
nose close enough to brush his. Eyes wide she stared into his smoldering amber
gaze and wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into. Her body was
shaking more with instinct now, a feeling rising in her blood darker than fear.
Kaoru mutely shook her
head, some part of her brain recognizing the fact that she was doing something
completely stupid, but uncaring, she repeated defiantly a single word. “No.”
Tangling his hands into
her hair, he wrapped the thick length of it around his knuckles before
viciously pulling her head back. Glaring down at her he watched the way her
breathing increased in pain and agonizingly sweet fear. It was strong enough to
make his teeth hurt with the thirst for it.
She smelled delicious.
“No?” His lips twisted
into a vicious smile, his fangs sliding slowly from behind his top lip. Kaoru
watched almost hungrily as his tongue ran over his bottom lip in an almost
thoughtful manner.
Almost good enough to
eat.
Smirking he ran a finger
down her jugular, and it pulsed under his touch, offering a pulse of stolen
blood that was twisted in her veins by her Ki, tangled throughout her body in a
sweet dance that demanded to be savored. His left hand tightened its hold on
her hair, arching her neck toward his wanting mouth.
“So delicious…” Kenshin
purred at her, his eyes bright with bloodlust, leaving Kaoru to wonder if he
was discussing her or her stolen blood.
Leaning forward, he traced
the pulsing point with tongue causing Kaoru to jerk violently in his arms, a
scorching heat rolling from where his tongue played patterns across her skin.
Any protest that wanted to rise to her lips died as he bit down hard.
Kaoru’s frame arched
against his, her blood pounding in her ears as his lean fangs bit into her
smooth skin. Kenshin happily sucked the bite without reservation. She shuddered
against him as he drank deeply from her slender frame.
She went limp against him
as she felt the familiar sensation of what had taken control of her blood surge
forward, but this time it was welcoming.
Carefully he adjusted his
hold on her twisting form, tracing the pale skin of her jaw with his lips.
Kaoru panted slightly, her
body still shivering from the brief feeling of his teeth buried in her skin.
She was gasping, her body quaking in shock, her blood reeling as it demanded
something from her, something she couldn’t quite reach.
“What…” Kaoru demanded,
her voice a breathy whisper against his chest, and that scared her even more
than the fact that his hold was -almost- gentle.
“You belong to me now, Kaoru.”
Kenshin’s voice was darkly layered with a thick coating of shadows and
amusement. Kaoru attempted to shift backwards, to see his face, but his grip on
her hair tightened almost painfully.
“Stay still.” It was an
order, and even though the harsh tone of words was meant to freeze her, it
almost relieved Kaoru.
This careful Battousai
scared her more than the feral one that looked as if he could devour ever inch
of her skin and leave her wanting for more. Somehow, darkness edging back into
his Ki and tone managed to make her feel a bit more on even footing. She was
still vulnerable, but at least with this side of him she knew her vulnerability
and could strive to hide it.
“You belong to me now.”
There was a hint of possessiveness that caused Kaoru to stiffen in outrage.
“You will get used to this, little one.” He wrenched on her hair just
enough to cause her to tilt her head back to relieve the light pressure. Kaoru
stared at him wide-eyed.
“I will not allow you to
disobey me, pet. I want you, and I will have you.” He leaned close, his nose
brushing hers. “Do you understand me?”
Kaoru, the part of her
that had survived on her own since she was a child, the part of her that had
faced down a group of nameless Vampires, rebelled. Even as she rose against
him, her mouth opening to fight, his lips cut her off.
Taking advantage of the
fact that her lips were already parted, he slipped his seeking tongue into her
mouth. Twisting it around her silky mouth, he demanded that she play back.
Almost against her will,
Kaoru found her body complying with every nuance of his kiss. Every move he
made, she echoed. Each whisper-light touch of his hand or stroke of his smooth
tongue she played into. Her body demanded that she succumb to whatever he
wished, that she allow him to claim whatever he wanted to take.
Gasping for air as he
pulled back, she barely acknowledged the path his lips were taking, from her
jaw back to her sensitive neck.
He slipped his free hand
along her waist, loosening the obi. For now, her frame was still pressed
against his chest so he was unable to see anything, but he could feel.
Sliding his hand inside
her yukata, he smirked slightly when she gasped as his hand slide along her
smooth skin, tracing the curve of her hip and the silky skin along her ribs. Sliding
it upwards, he grinned at her indignant squeak.
A few hot, hungry kisses
along her neck, and then he bit down against the dancing point in her neck that
begged for his attention. His hand slide along her back and rested on her bare
skin there while his other directed the angle in which her head tilted,
allowing him to tug at the blood flowing in her veins.
Kaoru moaned as she felt
the sensation that was slowly becoming familiar skate down her spine, the dark
shadow that slithered along her blood rising forcefully to meet…something. With
a gulp, her head fell against his
shoulder when he released
the hold on the back of her neck to allow some movement, his other hand slowly
drawing circles along her skin, causing gooseflesh to break out on her back.
“Mine, Kaoru.” Kenshin
whispered heatedly, something in his vampire instincts thrilling at the warmth
of her flesh pliant in his arms.
He hated the fact that he
was mated, but the part of him that survived on instinct alone delighted in
her. Delighted in seeing her in his arms, and in his bed, delighted in it much
more than he wanted to admit; repressing such instincts was easy enough, but he
had the nasty feeling that he was going to want to coddle this woman. He
-hated- coddling.
However, in return, he
knew that the little virgin in his arms was crawling out of her skin to be with
him. She was incredibly naïve about her instincts, and he would use that to his
advantage.
“Your Vampiric instincts
agree with me. It will not be long till you share my bed, Kaoru.” The way he
said her name sent a shiver of delight rolling down her spine. “You may fight
me if you wish, but your body will betray you and I will win.”
Pulling her away from him,
he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, his eyes glinting with little starbursts
of primal want.
For a split second, his
image shifted and little sparkles painted his face in colors she vaguely
recognized as being similar to the night wear she…escaped from Jineh.
Kenshin suddenly swam back
into focus. His mouth was twisted down into what was either the repression of a
smirk, or a dark frown. “You should be more careful when you use that, little
pet. It’s extremely easy for me to use it against you. And, do not be mistaken,
because I will use whatever I must to have you.”
Kaoru struggled to
understand exactly what he was talking about. Unless it was a reference to the
surging blood in her veins and the starbursts of color that swam in her vision.
The next instant she found
herself tucked into the futon and a warm blanket tucked around her. “Allow your
blood to fight against whatever is still contaminating it,” he told her in
amusement, his eyes promising that he was far from finished with her. ”It will
be time to feed again soon. You will gain your strength back soon, and when you
do…” He trailed off by branding her lips with his again, his tongue tracing her
bottom lip.
Rising up, he smirked at
her stunned expression.
He licked his bottom lip
in an agonizingly slow manner, his eyes watching the way her pupils dilated. “I
will get what I want, little Kaoru. Make no mistake about it.”
Kaoru felt something snake
forward in demand at the motion of his tongue, and then slip away at a
particularly heated glance of his eyes just before the door snapped shut.
‘I don’t understand
this at all!’ Kaoru mentally cried before she attempted, once again, to
hide behind the quiet sanctuary of her eyelids.
---------
Kenshin walked outside,
his eyes darkening in color to show the state of his temper. He had been
enjoying his game, but the stupid idiots outside had been making too much noise
for him to concentrate fully on his prize, and she deserved his full attention.
He did nothing by halves.
Stepping onto the porch of
the Dojo, he scanned the grounds and felt the need to hurt something. The
stupid idiots he had left in the calm and orderly Dojo lawn had managed to
destroy it in a matter of minuets.
Tilting his head, he
turned in time to watch them come pelting after what appeared to be a small
bird. Waiting until the panicked creature was a mere hand’s breath away, he
caught it easily.
Yahiko looked up and
groaned when he saw the Battousai standing on the front porch, looking
extremely irritated.
“What are you ahou’s
doing?” Kenshin snapped.
“Trying to catch that damn
bird.” Sano griped, glaring at the frantically twitching pigeon held softly
between Kenshin’s fingertips.
Kenshin resisted the urge
to roll his eyes. Dismissing the panting idiots, he allowed his attention to
turn to the fluttering pigeon in his hand. Calmly he removed the message tied
to the bird’s leg even as his eyes narrowed with agitation.
“What are you doing up?”
Kenshin didn’t even have to turn to see the surprised expression on the girl’s
face.
“I am tired of lying
down.” Kaoru retorted. She was weak-kneed and shaking, but the fresh air was
worth it. Sitting down she panted a little as she watched Sano and Yahiko
scramble towards her.
Looking up, for the moment
ignoring Sano’s ranting, she watched the way the sunlight played off Kenshin’s
hair. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, just as a small, feathered body
launched itself at her hair.
“MOU!” Kaoru yelped as she
caught the small bird in her hands. Her blue eyes widened in surprise as it
settled itself down and hid its head under its wing.
“What the…” Yahiko
sputtered, his eyes narrowing. “We chased that damn bird for hours and it just
flies into your hands?”
Sano muttered explicatives
under his breath.
“Please remember her gift,
you addle-brained rooster.” Megumi snapped as she walked up the path. Her hands
were full with small bags and she looked annoyed. Her eyes glared at the small
bird as if it was the messenger from hell.
“We are going to have
company soon.” Kenshin said flatly. He headed down the steps, his expression
aggressive. “Get Kaoru back inside, and the rest of you clean up this mess.”
“But…” Kaoru started, her
eyes narrowing. “What am I supposed to do with this?” Kaoru held the grey body
up for emphasis.
Kenshin turned lazily.
“Eat it, for all I care.” He gave a flash of pale fangs before he disappeared.
“You heard him.” Megumi
snapped as she reached out to help Kaoru stand. Kaoru was still eyeing the
pigeon in the fashion of a woman eying a spider, but she followed Megumi
without question.
Yahiko sighed. “Why do we
always get stuck with the clean-up?”
Sano shrugged, and
adjusted his fishbone, munching thoughtfully at the end. “Don’t know. Hey
Yahiko, have you ever heard of any Empath that animals automatically trust?”
Yahiko frowned and racked
his memory. “No.
Sano sighed, “That’s what
I was afraid of.”
Yahiko frowned but
couldn’t think of what Sano was getting at. Sighing, he bent over to begin to
put things to rights when he felt the presence of unfamiliar Ki.
Looking up he blinked
rapidly at what he saw. A girl who physically looked even younger than Kaoru
stood with a pouty expression on her youthful face.
A man, probably around
Kenshin’s height, stood behind her, the girls’ braid tightly wrapped around his
right wrist.
“Excuse us.” The boy said
politely. “My name is Seta Soujiro, and this is Makimichi Misao. We are looking
for the Battousai.”
Yahiko could only sigh as
Megumi’s tight voice rang across the clearing.
“So you’re the ones who
sent the message.” Her voice was low, and as far as Sano and Yahiko could tell,
furious.
Yahiko watched in surprise
as Misao’s face turned dark very quickly. “If it isn’t the Battousai little
house-trained Kitsune. How you are doing, Megumi?”
Sano and Yahiko started at
the venom in the girl’s voice.
“Play nice, Misao.”
Soujiro ordered his voice becoming firm even as he never lost his smile.
“Perhaps we could stay here until he returns?”
“That won’t be necessary,
Seta.” Kenshin’s voice glided into the strained silence. “I see you found her?”
Soujiro at once bowed his
head in a sign of respect. “Yes, Milord. It was only a matter of keeping her
once I found her.” He held up his hand to demonstrate.
Kenshin felt his lips
twitch in amusement at the dark look Misao shot Soujiro. “I am sure Shinomori
will be pleased. I have already sent a reply to let him know she is here. I
shall put up the proper wards to keep her inside the grounds.”
“Fuck you, Himura.” Misao
spat angrily, her dark blue-green eyes flashing.
Kenshin snorted at that.
Yahiko and Sano both gaped at the tiny women who seemed unafraid of the Battousai.
Even more shocking was the fact that he had not killed her for her wayward
tongue.
“Shinomori might have a
problem with that.” Kenshin said flippantly. “Megumi, take her inside. Misao,
keep your kunai to yourself or else.”
Misao crossed her arms and
followed Megumi with a look of deep hatred. The women slipped into the Dojo
with a slam of the sliding door.
“Who are they?” Yahiko
questioned aloud.
Kenshin shrugged. “Misao
is an obtenebration, a shadow walker. Hence, the reason Soujiro was sent after
her. I am sure you have heard of the Tenken.”
A boy supposedly raised
and taught by the Battousai himself after he killed Shishio. Apparently, it
wasn’t just a rumor that the Battousai had taken in an apprentice.
“Sano,” Kenshin snapped.
“Keep an eye on the women. Soujiro and I are going to talk.” He motioned the
small man to follow him and they both disappeared around the walls.
Yahiko sighed, ”Bet you
this Shinomori person shows up next.”
Sano shot him a hard look.
“Let’s pray he does not.”
--------
Kaoru opened her eyes
slowly, relief flooding through her when she noticed she wasn’t as weak as
before her nap. Looking around she gave a startled squeak when she saw a young
girl staring at her.
“So you’re Batts’ mate.
I’m Misao!” The girl cheerfully chattered as Kaoru stared at her. Kaoru’s eyes
widened further in alarm but the girl shook her head.
“Naw, he is out with
Soujiro –the nasty freak- who is probably telling Batts how bad I have been so
Batts can tell Aoshi-sama, who then will try to yell at me.” Her eyes darkened
at the name Aoshi-sama, and Kaoru opened her mouth to ask, when Misao went off
again.
“That lying, cheating,
bastard of a vampire! I hope someone stakes his scrawny ass to a tree and then
burns his fucking, insensitive hide.” Misao sat down with a plop, radiating
anger.
Kaoru stared at her, and
didn’t say a word. She didn’t have time to.
“He knew I’m your
mate, you over-inflated balloon brain, and you arrange for me to mate someone
else. Then when I ‘accidentally’ kill that son-of-a-bitch, you decide to
allow me to mate you instead. As if!” Misao stamped around the room in
agitation. “Bullshit!”
She sat back down with a
huff. Her eyes were flashing, but she was smiling. “So I ran away. And then
Soujiro, the little shit, had to go and catch me; ten years of freedom down the
drain.”
Kaoru waited, and when it
seemed the girl was done ranting, sat up gingerly. “So you ran away because..?”
Misao growled then. “I am
not something that can be bought and sold at the whim of Aoshi-sama. I am his
damn mate.” Her eyes flared. “I think asking for a little possessive or
protective instincts isn’t –that- much to want for.”
She shot Kaoru a look.
“That’s not something you’re going to have to worry about. Kenshin has enough
instincts for three Vampire lords.”
Kaoru frowned.
“Instincts?”
Misao cursed under her
breath. “I forgot that you are so young. A Vampire has a certain amount of…for
lack of a better phrase…animalistic instincts that govern certain actions. How
you handle a mate is one of them.”
“Oh. Young?” Kaoru tried
again, attempting to place the girl’s age.
“Oh, I’m hundred and
twenty-three. Your Kenshin is only fifty-five.”
“O-Only?” Kaoru exclaimed,
startled at the age difference between her and the girl.
“A Vampire isn’t
considered an adult until they hit fifty. It’s sort of a majority. You can’t
generally be mated until you turn fifty. Kenshin kind of robbed the cradle by
our standards.”
“Excuse me?” Kaoru
shrieked.
“I bet you want a proper
bath!” Misao suddenly mused, changing topics so fast Kaoru’s head spun.
“Kenshin and Sou-chan –the
bastard- are probably still out catching up, or better yet, beating each other
up. So we can get you in out and without a problem!” Misao disappeared out the
door hollering for Sano to get off his lazy ass and to build a fire.
Kaoru, as she slowly
gathered a change of clothing, wondered how long she had been sleeping and how
long Misao had been here. The information Misao had so casually thrown towards
her was also raging in her head.
She sighed as Misao returned
to make sure she didn’t fall flat on her face as they headed towards the tub.
Kaoru really just wanted
to crawl back into the futon and pretend it was all just a dream.
A very bad, very
frightening dream.
----------
“Have you sent word to
Shinomori?” Kenshin asked as he stood watching the river beat against the bank.
“All I told him was that you two were near Tokyo.”
Soujiro leaned against the
tree, his mouth a thin line of dark amusement. “Yes. I understand why Aoshi
couldn’t catch her, too. Once I found her, I had to keep up with her. She has
gotten very adept at disappearing into the shadows.”
Kenshin shrugged his
shoulders, unconcerned. “Shinomori was a fool to allow her to escape in the
first place.”
Soujiro nodded. His gift
was speed, god-like or otherwise. It was the only reason Kenshin had spared his
life, and the only reason he had been trained to utilize his dark gift.
He was perhaps as fast as
Kenshin was, and Kenshin had no gift for speed to fall back on. It was the only
reason he had caught the little demon known as Misao. He was fast enough to get
to her before she slipped into the shadows.
“Shinomori will be here in
a day or so. Keeping Misao tied to someone will not be so difficult.” Kenshin
assured Soujiro.
“Why don’t you tie her to
Kaoru-dono?” Soujiro suggested. “That way Kaoru-dono can have someone to keep
an eye on her, and Misao can’t run.”
Kenshin shot his
apprentice a thoughtful look. Soujiro had apparently caught on to the fact that
Kaoru was injured, which meant Soujiro knew he was going to have him hunting
someone.
Keeping Misao tied to
Kaoru would act as a double precaution, and Kenshin could see the wisdom in his
statement.
“I think I will.” Kenshin
accepted advice from few, because only a few knew their tongues would not be cut
out for the audacity of suggesting something to him.
“You will help this Zanza
hunt. Very few know your face or style as of yet.” It was an order, and one
Soujiro was going to have to take.
Soujiro bowed his head in
agreement.
Himura Kenshin was a
Vampire who was only fifty-five years of age. A Vampire hit his Majority at
fifty, but Kenshin had been ruling the world through fear for close to thirty
years.
Shinomori Aoshi was 600
years old, and even he treaded carefully around Soujiro’s Master.
Misao herself was well
into her second century, and yet acted like a child. It was no wonder Aoshi had
doubted the authenticity of Misao being his mate.
Kenshin bowed to only one
man, his Master, and anyone else paid the price for disobeying his commands.
Now Kenshin had a mate to
guard. Soujiro had a nasty feeling that the most dangerous Vampire of them all
had just gotten even more lethal.
-----------
Shinomori Aoshi carefully
rubbed two small messages between his thumb and forefinger, his eyes darkening
to stormy blue.
They had found her. She
was waiting for him in Tokyo, a nice neat little package waiting for his touch
to unravel. He had been tearing Japan apart for ten years and she had escaped
his every trap.
Aoshi felt the edges of
his mouth curl upwards coldly. Misao had many things to answer for, not the
least of which was his annoying desire for her small, well-proportioned body.
He had every intention of chaining her to his bed and showing her exactly why
she would never have any desire to leave him again.
She would be his, this
time.
It was beyond her power to
escape him again.
“I shall see you in two
days, mate of mine.”
