Warning: Rather bloody but not very graphic.
Chapter 3.
Kaoru woke up suddenly and sat up, breathing hard. Glancing around, she saw Kenshin, who was trying to coax a fire out of last night's glowing embers. He stared at her levelly as she groaned and buried her face in her hands. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, fighting back the lingering twilight of night. Kenshin nodded toward Kaoru. "You slept too long. Next time, I won't be so kind and let you sleep in."
Kaoru ignored him. All she could see were Kit's dead eyes, staring at her, covered in his own, thick blood. He seemed to be staring at her sadly, asking her to join him, to be with him. Kaoru shook the thought from her head. Suicide was most assuredly not an option. However, her mind was disturbed, haunted by her dead surrogate family. She shuddered fitfully.
Kenshin noticed. "You'd best not come done with an ague. I don't want to chance disease." Kaoru shook her head. "N-no, I was just thinking of something."
The bounty hunter's eyes softened. "Well, if it is any consolation, I had to watch both of my parents get hacked to death by disgruntled samurai." He threw some wood on the fire carelessly. "That memory shall stay with me until I die." He chuckled. "And I don't have any disillusions about living long." His amber eyes caught Kaoru's blue ones. "Don't dwell on it. Make your peace with their deaths. You may not like it, you may find yourself crying out their names in the dark, cold midnight hours, but you have to realize they won't come back." He leaned back and watched the sunrise. "And shooting people in cold-blood will do nothing to ease the pain. That would make you the same as them."
Kaoru's eyes shimmered with tears. She wiped at them before scowling. "For someone who makes a livin' outta killing men, you sure don't want others to kill. Why?"
Kenshin didn't look at her as he pulled out a hunk of tough bread. "Because I don't want others making the same mistakes. But, man should not be denied his God-given free will." He bit the bread and chewed thoughtfully. Swallowing quickly, he met her eyes again. "You have to make a decision, Miss Kaoru, because your need for revenge will drive you insane. If I stop you by not offering you transportation, then I would be aiding your insanity." Kaoru opened her mouth to protest, but Kenshin rudely shoved a piece of bread into it. "Oh, I'm sure you would have tried to walk. But you would have lost their trail after the next rainstorm and would have wandered aimlessly on this endless plain. Needless to say, you would have probably starved to death."
Kaoru sourly bit at the bread. "I am not changing my mind. Quit tryin' to convince me not to kill," she spat vehemently. Kenshin, not in the least surprised, poured dirt on the fire and stood to his feet. "Very well, Miss Kaoru, it is your innocence, not mine." He saddled Velox. "Shall we find some horse thieves?"
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Kaoru lay on her stomach, watching the distant fire from a low hill. Five men, each burly and unshaven, sat around the fire drinking suspicious liquid from large bottles. Laughing roughly at some joke, they rocked back and forth in their mirth. A large herd of horses stood in a makeshift corral just outside the circle of fire, each picketed to thick wooden stakes thrust into the ground.
The young girl cursed from her vantage point, swatting at flies and the tall grass tickling her neck. Kenshin stood at the bottom of the hill, tending to Velox in an uninterested fashion. "Do you see them, Miss Kaoru?" he intoned softly. Kaoru nodded without turning to look at him. Night had fallen heavily, bringing with it oppressive, dark clouds. Not even the moon was visible, as if hiding her face from the possible bloodletting. Kenshin slowly crept up beside her and glanced at the thieves. "Five of 'em. Can you manage it?"
Kaoru gave a curt nod. "I can shoot two before they figure out where the bullets are coming from and then pick 'em off as they run towards me." Kenshin shook his head. "How do you intend to snipe at them with a revolver?"
Kaoru scowled and took out the silver gun. Swiftly chambering six bullets, she snapped it closed. Kenshin hung his head thoughtfully before bringing it back up again. "Miss Kaoru, are you sure you want to…"
"Yes," she whispered fiercely. "Now shut up and stand back." Kenshin didn't move. "Suit yerself, Blade Runner." Taking the pistol, she held it at arms length. She hesitated. Kenshin's words flashed briefly through her mind. "Very well, Miss Kaoru, it is your innocence, not mine." She gritted her teeth before sighing loudly.
An almost muffled bang sounded out in the night before one of the men toppled forward into the fire. The other men jumped to their feet, before another shot rang out. Another man fell.
"Three more," murmured Kaoru. Kenshin looked at the two dead men sadly.
The three men saw a slight movement on Kaoru's hill and ran toward it angrily.
Avoiding Kenshin's eyes, Kaoru stood up tall, the gun trained at another man. Blind fury swept through her, leaving her with only slight exhilaration as she took the shot. The tall man fell while running, the bullet knocking him back several paces. The remaining man threw a large rifle to his shoulder and fired.
Kaoru gasped. Something slammed into her with all the force of the raging ocean waves. Searing, white-hot pain flashed through her, nauseating her. She felt the world tip crazily and heard Kenshin's voice seemingly in slow motion. Taking a deep breath, Kaoru glanced at her side, where a large gash in her shirt was quickly reddening. "How dare he?" her mind screamed, driven half mad with the pain. She sat heavily on the ground, the world still tipping madly. Her breathing was slow and ragged. Impossible fury flowed in her as she saw the man lift the gun again. Grimacing, she threw something at him.
The man was startled when a heavy revolver struck him in the forehead, tearing the skin. Cursing, he dropped the gun and clutched his head. Kaoru groped around on the ground until her hand came in contact with something. Kenshin's sword, which he had previously laid down so he could watch, was lying in the cool grass beside her. Grasping it, she yanked it out of its scabbard and threw the sheathe to a very surprised Kenshin. The naked katana felt natural in her hands, but she hardly noticed.
Letting loose a primal scream, she charged down at the bleeding man. He threw out his hands to stop her, but she bore down on him, sword raised. "You low-life scum," yelled Kaoru. "You murdered my entire family and you think you have the right to defend yourself?" She swung the flat of the blade at him, catching his ribs with a loud crack. The doomed man had no time to scream as Kaoru struck his head with the blade's hilt, knocking him to the ground. Standing above him, Kaoru's brilliant sapphire eyes flashed as she plunged the sword at the man. A sickening spray of sticky fluid spattered over her pale face and dark hair. She didn't notice. She plunged the dripping sword again and again. She yelled out her anger and pain at the bleak sky as she continued her maddened attack.
Suddenly, a strong pair of hands pinned her arms to her side and pulled her into a crushing embrace. Kaoru continued to thrash wildly, trying to stab at her restrainer while still yelling savagely. "Kaoru! Calm yourself," Kenshin shouted. She continued to thrash weakly before she began to sob violently. The sword fell to the sticky grass, covered in blood and dirt to its hilt. Shuddering uncontrollably, Kaoru sank to the ground, with Kenshin still holding her tightly.
"Well, they got what they deserved. Are you happy now, Miss Kaoru?"
Struggling to control her sobbing, she looked at her hands. Dark, crimson liquid slowly trailed down her arms, soaking the sleeves of her white shirt. Droplets were scattered over her torso and face, mixing with her tears. Her hair was matted to her scalp, as if someone had poured syrup on her head.
"You're a murderer now, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin sighed. "Welcome to the dark side of the world."
Kaoru simply stared unseeingly at the still warm corpse before her.
"Welcome to my world."
Y'ello, peoples. What can I say about this chapter? Um…er, ick? It's rather depressing isn't it? Anyway, this is an overall angsty chapter. I don't really do angst because I don't have much of it myself (although I'm no happy-go-lucky kinda guy either). This chapter is necessary for the new attitude I'm instilling into Kaoru.
I don't know, but I seem to make Kenshin very philosophical in my stories (In "The Tolling Bell", he might as well be Confucius). I think this happens because my beliefs are a very large part of me. I mean, take that out and I'll have a big, gaping hole in my torso.
The next chapter will jump ahead a few years. I wanted to this so I can show what sort of person Kaoru turns out to be. Maybe we'll have some Sano too, if I can slip him in there somehow. Maybe Misao and Aoshi too. Misao is a lot of fun to work with simply because of her flexible character. I'll definitely think of a way to use her.
Thank you Lynn10 for beta reading.
Anyway, review, review, review. I like those little messages in my e-mail, but maybe that's just egotistical. Ciao.