Chapter 11
Kaoru's eyes widened, and Yuugure's sword slipped
from her fingers and fell to the ground. Tora's lips felt warm
and welcoming on her own, but something seemed wrong...and a deep
feeling of guilt swept over her like a wave. I'm..I'm not
being faithful to...to... but try as she might, Kaoru
couldn't remember anyone she might be cheating by allowing Tora
to kiss her. She struggled feebly to free herself from Tora's
tight grasp, but he only held her more tightly, until, at last,
he released her and stepped backwards, laughter in his eyes.
Kaoru clenched her teeth in anger and tried to slap him, but he
caught her hand easily. Using his other hand, he reached up and
touched her cheek tenderly, a faint smile playing at his lips.
Kaoru raised her free hand to stop him, but dropped it almost
instantly as his fingers danced across her face and down to her
neck, pausing slightly at the small of her throat. She struggled
to lift her hand again, but it wouldn't budge, and she watched
helplessly as he began to run his fingers over her shoulder and
slide his arm down her back. Inside, a great pain was tearing her
apart- an intense guilt of sorts, and tears slowly began to fall,
one by one, down her cheeks. Still, she was powerless to speak or
move as Tora began to slowly undo the bow tying her kimono.
together.
Suddenly, Tora's eyes bulged, and he fell sharply forward. Kaoru felt her strength returning and pushed him roughly away from her, quickly re-tightening her bow and moving away from Tora, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Tora flipped back into a standing position and spun around to face his attacker. Ralon stood straight and tall, facing him, her fists balled into two deadly fists.
"You BITCH! Stay outta my business tomboy!!!" Ralon said nothing and glared at Tora. Only her eyes revealed the intense anger she felt for the other Star.
"What? Don't got nothin' to say? I'll beat the CRAP outta you!" Tora unsheathed his sword and crouched into a ready position, waiting for Ralon to attack. When she didn't move, he cried out in indignation and leapt up high in the air, prepared to bring his sword slicing down on her head. Ralon, sidestepped smoothly, moving like the wind, and shot out a punch, smashing Tora in the back and sending him flying into a nearby tree. Ralon and Kaoru watched as he dragged his body up to a sitting position, using his sword for support. A stream of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, and he wiped it off with a sleeve.
"What are you trying to protect her for, Ralon?... She doesn't have anything good for you....."
Ralon narrowed her eyes and glared icily at Tora, saying softly, "That's something you'll never understand, Tora.... You don't know the true meaning of companionship...of friendship...because you'll always be alone..the lone tiger Star... you just don't know what it means to have someone around who actually cares about others....do you?"
Pain flickered across Tora's face, and he looked vulnerable for a split second, but that vulnerability was immediately replaced by cold, hard indifference. "Yeah.. whatever Ralon. You stick to your companionship. I stick up for number one. In a world like this, Ralon...companionship is dangerous."
Using his sword, Tora pushed his body up and limped slowly away.
Ralon nodded and called out to Tora, "Hai....but for someone who doesn't belong in a world like this....companionship is salvation...you know what I'm talking about, Tora,....and for that someone....sticking up for number one is death..."
Tora stopped for a moment, then continued limping toward the Inn, seeming to turn his back on Ralon's words. Ralon sighed softly. Kaoru looked up at the older woman, her large, blue eyes full of questions, but she asked only one.
"Ralon-san....why do you choose me for....companionship?" Ralon looked up, startled.
"You don't know, Kaoru?" Kaoru shook her head.
"Because.....you're sweet...and you're innocent. You may not think you are,...but compared to us, you're like a newborn child. Having you as a companion is like...reliving innocence. It's a gift, Kaoru...a gift of not knowing, and living in happiness. I would give anything to be like you.....to not be a Star..to not have had the past that I had. Any one of us would, even Tora. As for friendship...I choose you for the same reason Tora chooses you, only I do it a bit differently. You remind us of someone......someone we both knew a long time ago."
A look of sadness passed over Ralon's face, and Kaoru refrained from asking anymore questions. The sound of footsteps startled them both, and they turned around to see Yuugure walking towards them. Kaoru quickly picked up the sword from the ground where she had dropped it and held it out to him.
"You're sword...back.." Yuugure took it and thanked Kaoru.
"Ah... I saw the two of you have a little trouble with Tora... I'm sorry, Kaoru, I would have intervened, but this was a test, and I wanted to see how you would get out of it. I had no idea he'd hypnotize you like that....Arigatou, Ralon-san..for ah....stopping him"
Ralon nodded silently and Kaoru looked up in surprise. "He hypnotized me? I knew I couldn't move but.."
"Hai....it's a technique of his..a form of hypnotism which puts the body's ability to move in a dreamlike state, but keeping the person himself, or herself, fully conscious. When killing, it is a deadly and very painful form of torture...."
Kaoru shuddered and tightened the arms wrapped around her body as Ralon glared at Yuugure. He only shrugged and began walking back toward the inn.
"Let's go in now.. It's time to eat."
The two women nodded and followed him in.
***************
Kenshin moved slowly along the misted path, following the limping Hebi deeper and deeper into the core of Demon City. Although it wasn't like him to worry much, he felt a strange feeling of dread, like it wasn't such a good idea to come rescue Kaoru. Ashamed, he shook the thought away. How can I think that....it's Kaoru... I have to save her.. I have to take her away from Yoru.. Kenshin remembered Tomoe then...his other love, broken by Night.... (*Note: This isn't what really happened to Tomoe, as most of you know, but I started out with this storyline, and I guess I'll finish it like this too. I'm not trying to change Watsuki's wonderful original work. It just fits my story like this...)
~~~~~~~~~~~
Battousai smiled as he returned home to his small, quaint house on the countryside. He anticipated the sight of Tomoe, his beautiful wife, and her bell-like laugh. Today had been a difficult day for him, and seeing her would definitely lift his weary spirits. He rushed up the path and threw open the door, a brilliant smile on his face, excitement racing through his blood at the thought of his Tomoe,
"Tomoe! I'm..ho...." Battousai stopped short and stared at the ground. Dark, red blood was splattered all over Tomoe's shiny, clean floor, starting in the kitchen and trailing into their bedroom. Horror swept over Battousai and he trembled slightly, reaching instinctively for his sword. Quietly, he followed the trail of blood through the wrecked kitchen into the bedroom. Halfway there, he heard a female voice, a scream of pain and agony, then silence. Battousai's eyes turned bright gold and he rushed into the bedroom, his sword drawn, ready to strike at anyone who dared to hurt his love. His eyes widened with shock and white, hot anger as he stared at the scene before him. There, on the bed, was his Tomoe, small and helpless under the large, bulky body of another man. Pieces of her kimono and undergarments were strewn all over the bedroom, stained with blood. Battousai leapt up in the air with famed speed and brought his sword striking down on the man, but the man leaped up, taking the bare body of Tomoe with him, and landed several feet away. Battousai growled savagely at the sight of his lovers' naked, seemingly lifeless body dripping with blood from cuts and slashes at various places on her body. The other man laughed coldly.
"So the famous hitokiri battousai has a weakness.....and I have taken her...so beautiful, so soft.. you really don't deserve her, Battousai."
Battousai said nothing, allowing the fury to rise up in him steadily.
"She's so beautiful..." The man lifted Tomoe up by an arm and licked her greedily on the side of her face, watching Battousai with one eye.
Battousai still said nothing, but his knuckles turned ghostly white as he gripped the sword more and more tightly.
The man grinned and began moving lower, his tongue searching, searching, his lips slightly parted, sucking up her blood. Suddenly, Tomoe's eyes flew open, and she stared straight at Battousai, her eyes filled with intense pain and love all at the same time. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Battousai broke then and screamed in rage. He ran forward and stabbed with his sword, smiling coldly as he felt the sword penetrate flesh....and blood. He forced the sword in deeper, and turned to look at his prize. His expression immediately became that of deep pain and anguish. Indeed, his sword had stricken the man, but in the process, the sword had gone through his body and into Tomoe's. Her eyes were clouded with pain, but she smiled and whispered to her lover, "Ai shiteru...my love...Ai shiteru." Battousai's eyes widened in horror as her head suddenly dropped to her chest, her body falling lifelessly off the sword onto the ground.
Battousai backed away slowly and screamed in rage and pain. Suddenly, he wanted to hurt the man who had done this to her...to tear him apart piece by piece. Battousai spun around and tore his sword from the man's body, preparing to stab him again and again for satisfication, but the man's body disappeared as soon as the sword left the body. Battousai spun around wildly, searching, but only heard cold laughter.
"Fool...battousai......you murdered your lover and didn't so much as come close to killing me...isn't it a pity....but I'll spare you some guilt....the girl would have died anyway, whether you had stabbed her or not.. It was fun, playing with her..she tasted so......sweet...."
Battousai screamed angrily, "Who are you damnit!!!!! Why are you doing this?!?!?!"
More cold laughter.. "I am Yoru, king of the Night....and I do this...because I hate...you......I should have been the hitokiri of this generation...but no...they give the title to you, a weakling...and for that, you will suffer forever...."
End of Chapter 11