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Saimu no Ken	By : Gothic_Lust Category: InuYasha Crossovers > Het - Male/Female Views: 1973 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines from InuYasha and Rurouni Kenshin belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Nobuhiro Watsuki respectively. I don't make any money off the writing of this fiction.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Saimu no Ken
(Indebted Sword)
By: Gothic Lust
InuYasha/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Alternate Universe
Kagome Higurashi/ Shinta Kenshin "Battôsai" Himura
Romance/Drama/Action-Adventure
Rated M
Summary: Himura, Kenshin, secretly the famous Hitokiri Battosai, must tackle more than just high school when classmate Higurashi, Kagome learns of his true identity and the two are forced into matrimony by the wild working of his boss, Yakuza head Hiko, Seiguro. [Kagome/Kenshin] [Darkfic] [InuYasha/Rurouni Kenshin Xover]
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin characters. This crazy plot however is totally my own.
Author's Note: Kenshin will be in Battôsai mind-frame for most of this fanfiction.

Kenshin's Speech:

This one…. Refers to "Sessha/Asshi". It's Kenshin's humble way of speaking. Very Polite.
I (not Italicized)…. Refers to "Watashi/Watakushi". It's the formal form of 'I' in Japanese.
I (Italicized)…. Refers to "Ore". It's the manly and strong form of 'I' in Japanese.
You (Temee, Temae)….Rude and confrontational way to say "you". Used when angry.
You (Kisama)….Extremely hostile and rude way to say "you".
If Kenshin's speech becomes too confusing to remember what the italicized "I" or "You" means, please let me know and I'll start writing in "Ore", "Watashi", or "Watakushi" for "I", and "Temee" and "Kisama" for "You" next to it in parenthesis or something to that nature. This legend will always be posted to every chapter just incase.
Suffix/Honorifics:
Name-chan: A diminutive or 'cute' suffix mainly referring to young girls or children.
Name-dono: Spelled 'tono' but pronounced 'dono' when linked to a name, so for the sake of keeping things relatively simple, I'm going to stick to the 'dono' spelling. Roughly translates to "Lord" or "Master". It's between 'san' and 'sama' in level of respect.
Name-kôhai: Similar to 'senpai' only referring to someone of a lower rank, grade, or age.
Name-kun: A suffix used mainly to address young men, boys and teenage boys, or used to address those of a junior status. Used by females that is attached to, or, has known the male for a long time. Females can also be addressed as 'kun' though it is not often used.
Name-sama: A more respectable version of 'san'. Refers to someone of higher rank than the speaker or to address someone the person admires.
Name-san: Roughly equivalent to "Mr.", "Miss", "Mrs.", or "Ms."
Name-senpai, Senpai: Used when addressing someone older than you, or of a higher rank or grade. Used normally in the school or work setting. It can be used without a name attached.
Name-sensei, Sensei: Used to address a teacher, doctor, politician…etc…Can be used without a name attached.
Name-ue: Normally seen with 'chichi-ue' and 'haha-ue' meaning father and mother. Means 'above', and means a high level of respect.
I hope that wasn't too confusing. You can find the links to more information on the Japanese language and honorifics on my bio page. This information was referenced from Wikipedia. The source is cited on my bio page.

Chapter One:
The Lonely-Boy Samurai and the Wrath of Heaven (Tenchu)
Blood and water poured down from the rafters of the loft floor from the broken skylight. Rain soaked the two figures standing beneath it as the boy with his long crimson hair in a warrior's tail pulled free his sword from the other man's chest. Without the support of the blade, the body crumpled under its own bulk. Wiping the blade clean on a white cloth, the young man turned to expose the cross shaped scar on his left cheek, a mark well known by the seedy underbelly yakuza and other misfits or criminals of the Tokyo area. The renowned Hitokiri Battosai had once again purged the world of another criminal, and as the boy-hitokiri left, he dropped the blood stained cloth upon the body, the kanji for "Tenchu" smeared with blood and black ink.
XxxxxxX
"Higurashi-dono?" Kagome blinked at the gapping faces of her friends. Their open mouths were rather unattractive, but their pointing fingers and star-struck eyes had her curious enough to turn around and address the low voice that called her surname.
Red hair clouded her vision for a moment before smiling lavender eyes cut through the haze. Himura-kun, a well studied, quiet young man who sat several rows over near the classroom door, stood before her, his hands shoved in the deep pockets of his slacks. She quickly looked down at her worn brown loafers so she wouldn't stare at the famous white patch on his left cheek.
"H-hai?" She breathlessly worded. Beneath her lashes she peeked up at his face. His trademark white patch was stuck to his left cheek, a cartoon sketch of a bokken drawn in permanent marker at the center smeared by a pink lip kiss stain. His maroon hair was swept back into a low tail that was tied with a leather thong. Behind him, Misao-chan, a freakishly violent girl giggled and blew a kiss to Himura-kun's back with her pink glossed lips. Misao-chan must have drawn the cartoon bokken on the stupid white patch. What ever did he wear it for anyway? Has he ever been without that stupid patch?
"This one wonders if it would be possible to borrow your math notes, Higurashi-dono." He smiled and bowed low, catching Kagome off guard at the humble request. She blinked as Misao-chan disappeared from view out the classroom door and returned her attention to Himura-kun.
"Aa, that's fine. I hope everything was okay with your family." Kagome turned momentarily to reach into her backpack for the black and white patterned composition book that held her precious math notes. "That's why you left school early yesterday, right?"
"Kagome-chan, it's rude to pry into other people's business." Ayumi, a slight girl with medium hair lightly waved from her early years living by the coast and the salty breeze, scolded her. Kagome froze realizing how such probing might affect their shy classmate. Kagome backpedaled and mumbled a quick apology between short polite bows for forgiveness.
"No harm done, Higurashi-dono." Kagome looked back up into the odd lavender eyes of her usually quiet classmate. He was smiling again and it was rather disarming. She didn't know if he really wasn't offended, or if he was and regretted his choice in asking to borrow her notes. This made her ponder yet another odd thing about Himura-kun; why did he want to borrow her notes anyway? Couldn't he easily ask the class' very own pervert, Miroku-kun, who sat just two seats behind him? Miroku-kun did have better grades than her in calculus anyway.
"Higurashi-dono? Are you feeling well?"
Kagome blinked rapidly and straightened from her prolonged bow so fast that she had to take a step back to regain her balance, however, the extra step caused her to bump into the corner of her desk and continue to topple to the side. She could hear her friends scream as she turned to extend her arms in front of her, hoping that they would take the brunt of the impact. The composition book hit the linoleum floor, but an arm caught her quickly around the waist.
Red hair fell over he shoulder in long strands, she blushed. Did Himura-kun just save her?
As the two straightened and Kagome was bombarded by questions from her friends, Himura-kun slipped from their attention and picked up the composition book from the floor. "Thank you for the notes Higurashi-dono, this one promises to hand them back first thing in the morning. Ja-ne."
Kagome watched the silent retreating figure of Himura-kun as he made his way to his desk and sat down, opened her note book and began to read.
"Kagome-chan, are you sure you're alright?" Eri, her short-haired, loud-mouthed friend asked as the other two check her arms for bruises.
"H-hai, Eri-chan, I'm fine." Kagome blushed and tore her attention from Himura-kun, wondering why the boy decided to ask her for notes when he'd never spoken to her before.
XxxxxxX
Classes ended quickly at the sound of the bell. Doors burst open and the courtyard filled with students. However, not one student made their way to the outer gates of the school grounds and out towards their home. The Students mingled a bit, then in unison, they all diverged to the gym where the sounds of large drums beckoned them. Today, their schools was facing another high school from their district in a Kendo tournament.
"I hope that they won't force Himura-kun to fight in today's matches." Eri-chan whispered to them as Kagome and her friends made their way down a row in the middle of the bleachers. "He shouldn't even be on the team really, he's so clumsy with a bokken."
"I heard that he was forced to join the group because his father wanted to make a man out of him, or something like that." Yuka-chan commented, briefly shifting her yellow headband back into place before continuing. "I think it's good for him."
Cries from the other school's practicing from the other side of the gym carried over the loud chattering of the rest of their peers. Several fighters pushed back against their opponents, their friends, so hard that they flew back off the mats landing on the cold gym floor. The four friends glanced at each other with worried faces.
"On second thought," Yuka shivered briefly. "Maybe it would be best if he just didn't show up at all."
"He always shows up." Ayumi smiled and pointed towards the bottom of their bleachers. Sure enough, red hair stood out among the many other tournament participants. "It's one of the things the school likes about him, even if he doesn't ever win a match. He sticks to it no matter what."
"I think it'd be admirable of him to stand up for himself and do something he loves." Kagome mumbled from around the straw of her drink. She continued to watch as Himura-kun sat on the bench provided for the participants and strapped on his safety gear. "I bet you he hates Kendo. He seems more into peaceful things really."
"I don't see him painting and smelling roses, Kagome." Eri laughed.
"Yea, he doesn't seem like the type to keep a diary of poems by his bedside." Yuka giggled, nearly overturning her own soda in the process. "Face it, no matter how soft the guy looks, he's a dedicated warrior. A steadfast hero of every nerd that want's to try to be a man, granted that he sucks at it, but I'll give him props for trying."
"I agree with Kagome on this one." Ayumi grabbed at Kagome's hand on her lap to stop Kagome from tearing open her skittles bag too rough. "Himura-kun should go into a club he actually enjoys being in. I heard from Kouga-kun that during practice, Himura-kun would daze out into space during katas."
"Ayumi-chan, have you been speaking to Kouga-kun privately?" Eri and Yuka leaned over Kagome to grab at Ayumi to keep her from sliding further away down the bench.
"Ano, well, you see…" Ayumi stuttered and fidgeted with her hands.
"Guys, leave Ayumi-chan alone." Kagome smiled. "It's her choice who she dates, though as a friend it's our responsibility to interrogate Kouga-kun thoroughly!"
"Kagome-chan!" Ayumi cried out meekly as her blush spread through her cheeks. "How can you be so cruel! I thought you were my friend!"
"And I though friends told friends when she started dating hot guys." Kagome giggled and nudged Ayumi's shoulder.
"Don't worry Ayumi-chan, I'm sure Kouga-kun is a great guy." Eri smiled and leaned back from her friend's personal space. "So, what else does he say about Himura-kun?"
"Well," Ayumi looked down again toward's Himura-kun and the rest of the team. Kagome followed and watched as Shishio-sama, their kendo club's captain and senior class member stopped in front of Himura-kun. "He doesn't really say much, Himura-kun is apparently very shy or very distant from his teammates. He doesn't go out to eat with them after tournaments or to birthday parties or anything. He's always polite, even when Shishio-sama yells at him for improper form. Apparently, Shishio-sama likes to yell at him a lot. I heard from Kouga-kun one time that Shishio-sama actually hit Himura-kun several times with the bokken really hard when he failed to improve."
"Really!" Kagome, Eri and Yuka all turned back to Himura-kun who was silently listening to whatever Shishio-sama was yelling at him.
"That's horrible." Kagome crushed her bag of skittles momentarily when Shishio struck Himura-kun briefly on the back of his head before moving down to the next teammate.
"Yea," Ayumi whispered as Shishio started to talk to her boyfriend. "Kouga told me that he's tried to get Himura-kun out of the club, but Himura-kun always politely refuses."
"Look the tournament is about to start!" Yuka shushed them as the two kendo clubs met in the middle of the gym floor, Himura-kun's red hair striking amongst the other flat colored heads as they bowed towards each other.
Fight after fight Kagome watched with baited breath as Himura-kun not once stood up to enter the ring. Kouga-kun's fight was long and rather bloody as blunt steel met instead of wooden swords. The match ended however in Kouga-kun's victory, and Ayumi's screams of praise for her boyfriend's win could be heard over the loud cheers from the rest of the school.
As the tournament was winding to an end, Himura-kun stood and walked out to meet his opponent in the center of the ring. A tie breaker was needed and Himura-kun's name had been drawn from the lots. His opponent was a year older than him and much bigger.
The two bowed towards one another as the school now watched with held breath as the two stood across from one another, bokken raised high. The match did not last very long. Even with the armor that Himura-kun wore, the strong hits from his opponent's bokken rang loud against his thin body. Each time he fell to the mat and stood again to continue the fight, the bokken would rain down hard towards unprotected areas.
The match was called in the other schools favor, but the point was immediately recanted when the opponent, smug with his victory, rapped Himura-kun's helmet one last time a bit too hard. Himura-kun fell and the entire school stood and watched as they red haired samurai didn't get up.
Kagome cried out, but could do nothing but watch as two of Himura-kun's teammates hauled him up and towards the bleachers where Shishio looked him over. The helmet was pulled off, and reflected off Himura's pale face was blood from a cut above his right eye.
Another match was set as Himura-kun was patched up, Kouga-kun versus another opponent. Kouga, fueled by anger that their weakest teammate was so heavily beaten and bloodied, ended the match in a violent and even bloodier fashion that somehow was allowed. Their school won, but the thought of the humble, shy, Himura-kun injured seemed to leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth that spoiled the sweetness of their victory.
"I hope he's alright." Kagome said as they made their way down from the bleachers.
"I'm going to go find out, Kouga-kun should know!" Ayumi raced off in front of them and didn't return before the last train left for home.
XxxxxxX
Gripping the pencil with tired hands, Kagome tried in vain to work out her math problems, but without her notebook, there wasn't much she could do except stare at the page and pray they'd sort themselves out. All the shortcuts she'd written down were now in the hands of Himura-kun as he copied her notes.
Ayumi had called earlier that evening, apologizing for not making the train, but assured Kagome that she made it back safely with Kouga-kun after they had taken Himura-kun to the nurse. It turned out that besides a few good knocks and bruises, Himura-kun only suffered a bump on the head and a small cut above his right eye. Nothing serious, as Ayumi reassured her. Kagome even laughed as Ayumi recalled how Himura-kun begged to leave without treatment and asked Ayumi to once again thank Kagome for her math notes. The same math notes that she so desperately needed right now to finish the dreaded homework.
"Damn it all," Kagome sighed and pushed her chair back from the desk. She leaned back and stretched, glancing over at her empty snack bowl. Deciding to fill it with another bag of popcorn, she left the room without bothering to put on a pair of shorts under her flannel button-up pajama top. Maybe another bag will also help her to forget about a bloody Himura-kun. The boy was too soft to be into such a dangerous sport.
She walked past her parents on the couch watching the news, and the cat lazing about on the dining table She glanced over the room once more, finding it odd that her brother wasn't draped across the other side of the couch begging for the evening cartoons instead of the news. She guessed that he was once again staying over Kohaku-kun's house playing video games instead of doing his homework. She shook her head briefly, before entering the kitchen to get her popcorn before she too ended up doing something else besides her own homework.
As she punched the button for the microwave to heat another bag of buttered popcorn, a thick hand pressed against her nose and mouth. Kagome screamed and bucked against the large body against her back. The thick hand that smelled faintly of motor oil and stale cigarettes clamped harder against her face as the large man roughly pushed her against the hard counter, the edge of the granite top catching her middle forcing her to loose her breath.
She was dizzy and out of breath, but glad for the hand that blocked the foul stench of the man's breath as he whispered in her ear, "Try anything and we'll kill you and your family."
They stood still in the dark silence of the kitchen with the only light coming from the microwave as the popcorn bag spun and popped. Kagome nodded slowly and winced as another pair of hands, thinner with longer nails pulled her wrists together in front of her and bound them with rough weather worn rope that chafed her wrists.
The thick hand began to pull away and as soon as her jaw was unclamped from his steel grip, Kagome bit down on the man's thumb hard. The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth and it took all her will to continue to bite down instead of spit the horrid taste off her tongue. Thin, claw like fingers pressed the sides of her jaw below her ears and pain spread behind her eyes as her mouth was forced open and something collided with the back of her head.
"Bitch!" The man whispered harshly.
Kagome spat the blood from her mouth and opened her lips to scream when the thin hand moved from her jaw to her throat and squeezed. Kagome gasped for air but received nothing more than a thick twisted rope of the dish towel hanging from the bar on the oven. The knot that was tied to secure it between her teeth pressed uncomfortably against the bruise on the back of her head.
She was pushed down onto the tile floor as screams from the living room cut through the darkness in the kitchen. Kagome tried to struggle to get up but a foot placed hard between her shoulder blades forced her back down. The man with thick hands left the kitchen towards the living room briefly stopping to un-holster his gun.
"Don't move wench, it'll be lots simpler if you do as you're told." The foot press harder and Kagome was forced to bend over, her thighs compressing her abdomen and chest making it hard to breathe.
Her mother fell into the room, her mouth and hands bound with the same weather worn rope that held her own hands together. Her cheek was red, as if someone smacked her hard across the face. Her father followed soon after, blood staining his balding crown as his beefy arms were wrapped in several twists of the rope before they were pulled tight against his back.
"Hurry up, you know the boss doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Two thin hands pulled Kagome up and tossed her near her parents. Together the three where herded into the back of a white unmarked van and driven away from their home. Kagome looked back at the house and could only think of her younger brother, happy he was safe at a friends house, and as she looked back at her parents she could see the same happiness reflected in their eyes. At least he was safe, but what these men wanted with her family, she wasn't sure.
XxxxxxX
Kagome and her family exited the van nearly an hour later at the back of an expensive traditional Japanese styled mansion. The barrel of a gun pressed in between her shoulder blades forced her and her family to walk down several winding halls filled with armor suited men with guns and other weapons. They stopped before a delicately painted screen door with white cranes, a pond and a yellow sun. The beauty of the work went unappreciated as rough hands slammed the screen door open roughly, nearly tearing the thin rice paper from the frame.
Within the room at the far back was a fat man seated on a royal purple cushion. His thick fingers picked at his boat of assorted sushi as naked women whose bodies were painted in various hues of blues, greens and purples, danced for him in the vast openness of the tatami matted floor. The side walls were lined with more guards dressed in armor and heavy weaponry.
Kagome and her family were led down the left wall as to not disturb the dancing women. They were forced to sit in the traditional kneeling fashion and waited as the women finished their dance, bowed and left through the same door the family entered.
The fat man ignored them as he finished his large boat of sushi and several bowls of rice and miso soup. As the man wiped his hands clean on lemon scented warm silk towels, he motioned a guard behind Kagome with a flick of his wrist.
Large hands wound themselves under her arms and lifted her from the floor. Kagome screamed through the thick rope binding between her teeth, and tried to kick the guard as he seated her again beside the fat lemon scented man. Her gag was removed, and as she worked her jaw, listening to the sickening crack it made from disuse, she could hear her father cursing in the background as his gag was also removed.
"Bastard, let my family go. I've nearly got your money so," Her father stopped talking as a thick stick hit him on the back of the head.
"You have had your chance to pay me back, now, I'm going to collect whatever I can of what you owe me tonight." The man's pudgy hands grabbed under Kagome's chin and forced her to look into the grotesque face of who was presumably the boss.
"Kageomaru, please, I'll get you the money just…"
"She's very pretty isn't she?" A hand stroked her thigh, the flannel top she had stolen from her father a few years back was now too short to cover her much longer legs. The skin of his hands felt like oiled scales across the naked flesh of her inner thigh. She tried to move away, but the hand at her chin pulled harshly forward, then up as the hand moved from her thigh to her breast.
"Well done. This one's very firm and surprisingly large for her age. I would never have though such a man like you, Higurashi-san, was capable of creating such a sinful creature."
"Bastard, let her go!"
A loud crash resonated as her father fell hard on the tatami floor. Two guards proceeded to beat him with the ends of their rifles. Kagome cried for them to stop and watched helplessly as her mother could do nothing more than scream.
"You haven't paid me, and I kept lending you money, thinking you'd pay it back with your stupid gambling. Not once did you get lucky enough to win back the money you owed me. Now your wife and daughter are going to work for me. Your two whores are going to make back every penny and then all the interest for every year you never paid and for every year they slack until it's back in my pocket."
"Bastard!" Higurashi-san growled and trembled, slowly sitting back up with the help of his wife.
"You're lucky though, I'll be your first customer. This little bitch of your's seems tight enough, she should make it back very quickly." Kageomaru's hands paused their perverse trail as screams and gunshots filled the room. The screen doors in front of their rooms depicted a fierce battle of shadows that stained the thin rice paper red.
The guards on either side of the walls moved forward, protecting their master from whatever threatened them. The screaming ceased and the ruined screen doors slowly opened. The guns lowered momentarily as a boy with red hair entered the room.
XxxxxxX
"H-Himura-kun?" Kagome stammered; her shock so great at seeing her shy, quiet classmate walk through the open delicate silk screen doors. As she continued to look at him, at his face, she began find less of the modest and polite classmate and more of…something else.
He stood far too straight to be Himura-kun. The classmate she knew was never so ramrod straight or square-shouldered. Himura-kun was graceful, as if he walked on air most of the time and not on solid ground. Himura-kun wore his hair down, loosely gathered together near the nape of his neck, not so high up on the crown of his head. Himura-kun's eyes, light lavender and always smiling were not like this Himura-clone, his eyes were pointedly narrow, dark and glaring.
It was frightening to realize that someone you thought you knew well enough was not who you thought they were. She watched him as he clenched his hand over the hilt of the sword strapped to the belt of his school uniform pants. This was not in any way Himura-kun, this was a man without fear of death or of giving death.
Kagome could not help but cry, knowing that Himura-kun might not be here to save her or her family. He might be another member of this blood-crazied and money-laundering Yakuza. She turned her face down to look at his shoes, still on and covered in blood.
"Kageomaru, you disappoint me." A deep voice cut through the silence as if it were a searing blade. A tall man rounded the corner and entered the open silk screen doors. As he entered, many of the men that were once armed and surrounding their Yakuza head immediately dropped their weapons and lowered themselves into a kowtow. Himura-kun, however, lightly bowed his head and followed three steps after the man to the middle of the room, his left hand never leaving the scabbard of his sheathed sword, his thumb poised to free the weapon whenever necessary. "When I indoctrinated you as head of this branch, I specifically mentioned to be frugal about your money habits, but it seems you cannot follow the simple rules you were given."
Kagome shivered. Who was this man? His presence immediately placated many of the blood thirsty brutes ready to tear apart the first sign of life to enter the room. Just who was he, and why was Himura-kun with him?
"You bastard! Do you know how hard it is to get these simpletons to do their job?" Kageomaru waved a fat hand around the room. "These underbelly lowlifes understand nothing of hierarchy."
"And neither, my slippery friend, do you." The man crossed his thick arms over his large chest and with a quick movement, tossed his long straight black hair from his face and continued. "I have given you chances time and again to collect your dues before I took action, but it has recently come to my attention the true dealings of this syndicate."
"True dealings? What exactly do you mean by that?" Kageomaru gripped Kagome's rope bound wrist tighter with his large right hand causing her to let out a strangled cry.
It was brief, but the motion of Himura-kun's tightened grip on the scabbard and the twitch of his right hand towards the hilt of the sword did not go unnoticed. Kagome looked up to him briefly before another wave of pain forced her to shut her eyes again.
"Kenshin, do you know this girl?" The man turned to face Himura-kun and raised an eyebrow with a twitch.
"Hai, Hiko-sama." Himura-kun's grip did not lessen on the sword and he stared down the fat gang leader. Kageomaru's grip on her wrists all but disappeared as the steel purple death glare from Himura-kun caused him to scramble back a bit. "She is a classmate of mine. She was the one to lend me the math notes I missed."
"I see." Hiko glanced at Kagome, quickly eyeing the overly large button up flannel she was using for a nightgown and her disheveled hair and bound wrists. He smirked and Kagome's heart stilled for a moment. She couldn't breathe. It was as if this man's every gesture was important, controlling her. Why did she feel the sudden need to run away from him?
"Kageomaru, release this girl and her family. Their debt is no longer under your control." Even as the man said this, the words that would set her free of the pervert Kageomaru, Kagome could not find any joy in it. Her parents, however, nearly jumped from their kneeling position against the far wall and immediately began thanking the man for his generosity. Himura-kun, she noted, seemed shocked, and for a brief moment, she could see the light lavender return to his wide cold eyes. Did he feel that something was wrong too?
"Hiko-sama?" Himura-kun spoke softly and took a step forward before falling back into place when Hiko half-turned in his direction with a glare so cold it promised far worse than death.
"Know your place and be silent. A servant asks no questions of his Lord, and neither should an idiot apprentice to his master."
Himura-kun's jaw tightened, but did not speak again. He straightened impossibly so and bowed deeply at the waist but did not rise even after Hiko turned his back. Kagome could only watch silently as Himura-kun stayed bent over, immobile and open for attack. Hiko ignored him.
"Where did you find such a faithful servant?" Kageomaru sneered. Sometime between Hiko's demand and Himura-kun's bow he had slithered back next to Kagome, his hand now upon her bare thigh, stroking from her knee to the edge of her flannel shirt near her hip. She cringed and tried to get away, but the sharp point of something cold against her back warned her from moving at all. "If I could find even one man like him, I'm sure you'd have no need to replace my leadership."
Hiko grinned and waved his hand behind him. Himura-kun stood, his hand now on the hilt of his sword as he glared at Kageomaru. "I'm sure if you were to find someone like my apprentice you'd have no need of being under me."
"Release her." Himura-kun growled low. The gleam of the sword's blade shown through the small crack of space between his thumb and the finger guard, he pulled the sword a bit more.
"Kenshin," Hiko said. Himura-kun did not straighten as he normally would, but nodded briefly. "Kill him, I tired of his attempts to escape this compound. He is of no use."
"Boy, if you even move one inch, I'll ram this tanto straight into her spine." Kageomaru threatened, the point of the blade digging a bit into Kagome's back.
Himura-kun paused a moment, crouched lower and pulled his hip to one side so the sword still in it's sheath was nearly obscured from view. Kagome cried out in pain as the tip of Kageomaru's tanto dug through the thin flannel and into the flesh of her back close to her spine.
Some of Kageomaru's loyal servants were now standing, each holding one weapon or another pointed at Himura-kun. A few charged at him just as Kagome screamed out his name. Thunderous sounds of metal against metal rang nearly as loud as the cries of pain and the thunk of dropping bodies.
"You stupid bastard, what a waste of a good servant." Kageomaru smirked, broke into a grin, then finally the silence of the room was filled with his mirth. Kagome, wide eyed, starred at the bodies of Kageomaru's loyal servants and their blood that painted the room and people.
Kageomaru, his eyes still closed in laughter, had not yet noticed the demise of his loyal men.
"The money these people owe me is mine, and they will pay it back however I see fit. It is that bastards loss if I want his women in return for some of the accrued interest." Kageomaru straightened and calmed his breathing though his eyes were still closed, glittering with the remnants of his tears of mirth.
"Now that that foolish boy is dead, I'll…." As Kageomaru's eyes opened, his mouth slowed and words died on his tongue. His eyes scanned the room painted in blood, body parts and innards. The sweep of his unbelieving gaze stopped upon Himura-kun who stood in the middle of the room as he cleaned his sword with a white scrap of cloth from his pocket.
"Your gloating and posturing is finally at its end Kageomaru." Hiko stepped away, closer to Kagome's stunned parents and their guards.
"B-b-but, h-how!" Kageomaru stuttered. "Those men were the best, and that boy couldn't swing a bokken, let along a real katana!"
Kagome, for all her hate for Kageomaru, could not fault his logic. Those same men that had kidnapped her and her family had also been at the Kendo tournament at her school, where Himura-kun had been beaten and injured by his opponent, she could still see the wound above his right eye. The gentle, kindly school boy Hiruma-kun was horrid at swordsmanship, but here, Himura-clone was a machine oiled by the blood of its victims. Hiruma-kun, holding a live sword lightly stained with blood and surrounded by hacked bodies was, if nothing else, unsettling. His movements with that sword were graceful when he was slow, and he was impossible to see when he attacked.
Kagome could not understand it all! She pinched herself again, praying she had strayed into a horrible nightmare. Pain registered under her numb fingers where she had pinched the soft flesh of her inner thigh.
"I (Ore) have never been good with wooden swords," Himura-kun said as he sheathed his sword. He took a step forward and Kageomaru, who jumped at the sudden movement, grabbed Kagome and pulled her back with him against the back wall using her smaller body as a shield. "But I was also under orders to become a clumsy novice."
Himura-kun's lack of humble speech was far more frightening and unsettling to her than anything he had done thus far. Maybe it was because she could not register the fact that the shy young-man that sat in the back of the class had just murdered six fully grown men without batting an eyelash, or because the classmate she knew him to be had disappeared entirely as his speech changed to the rude, manly, pronunciation. She was afraid of this Himura. It was as if he was an entirely different person. She was afraid for him just as much as she was afraid for herself. Would he save her, or was she going to die by his sword too?
"You (Kisama) do not deserve to…"
"Kenshin." Hiruma-kun looked up to Hiko as he spoke from the far side of the room next to her parents. "Remove it. Let him know the taste of the blade of a true swordsman. Allow him to feel the fear that befalls the victims of your sword."
Kagome and everyone watched as he nodded and stood fully. With his right hand, Himura-kun peeled the edge of the white patch he had become so famous for at school. Kagome leaned forward, wondering what he hid beneath the dressing. Himura tugged hard as soon as his fingers were able to grip the edge, the echo that followed was swallowed quickly by screams and utter confusion. Kagome was unable to see Himura's face until what was left of the stout guards of Kageomaru had left trailing a cloud of dust behind them.
Kageomaru screamed as he gazed upon the crossed-shaped scar. The tanto at her back dropped to the tatami floor forgotten.
Red hair. Cross-shaped scar. Awesome swordsman. Hitokiri. Battosai!
Kagome could not breathe again as she looked into the eyes of her classmate and realized that the famous assassin that should have been in his forties was none other than her humble seventeen year old high school classmate: Himura, Kenshin.
XxxxxxX
Kenshin looked sadly upon Kagome as her pale face drained completely of blood. He could not hear her soft breath as he dropped the white bandage that hid his scar from view to the floor.
"Y-y-you're hi-hi-hito-ki-ki-ri Ba-ba-t-t-t-ttosai!" Kageomaru stuttered. Kenshin watched as the fat pig's grip tightened upon Kagome's arms, the force of which caused her to gasp and return to breathing.
"Release her and your death with be swift and painless." Kenshin flicked the sword briefly of any remaining blood and waited for the lazy yakuza head to release his innocent classmate.
The oaf gripped her tighter, bruising the delicate pale flesh of her thin arm. Kenshin growled and pointed the sword directly at the man's heaving lungs. The bastard chose to die slowly then.
"Kagome, don't move." Kagome nodded briefly and clutched the seam of the door behind her just as he kicked off the ground. His sword resisted the thrust for a moment as it tore through a thick bullet proof vest, then through the soft gel of the mans bulky fat and the tough muscle between his ribs before piercing into his left lung. The man gurgled and wheezed, releasing Kagome.
As Kagome's knees hit the tatami mat floor, Kenshin twisted the blade a moment so the cutting edge faced the fat bastards heart and other lung before tearing it out of his body via slashing through the other two organs. Blood gushed from the wound, covering Kagome and himself in the viscous liquid before the torrent of warm life faded and the heavy body slumped down the wall.
Kagome didn't scream, or cry, or make any sound or movement. She just stared at him as the blood ran from her hair and down her cheeks. Kenshin could not face her, knowing he just corrupted her peaceful mind. Her wide blue eyes would haunt him, demanding him for the innocence he just ripped from her. Wishing he could give her back that peace of mind and safety she once knew, Kenshin turned from her and faced Hiko who stood over by her parents.
"Pick her up, Kenshin." Hiko commanded and he lifted himself from his leaning position from the door. "We'll discuss their debt back in my office."
"Pardon my rudeness, but would it be alright if I take their debt. This family shouldn't have to suffer any further." Kenshin glanced back over his shoulder at Kagome. She was still looking at him, wide eyed and bloodied. He could not erase the damage he had caused or the death she had seen, but he could allow her a debt free life with a family free of yakuza dealings.
"I'm glad that you agree with me." Hiko smiled and clapped Kenshin on the shoulder. "I planned to give you her family's debt the moment you unsheathed your sword for her sake."
Hiko stood back and faced the Higurashi head of house. The man, balding and large from stress and alcohol, couldn't seem to make up his mind to be happy or shocked by such an outcome.
"You should thank my idiot apprentice, he's willing to take on your debt, however," Hiko's tone grew serious rather than the lighthearted smile he portrayed the gift as. Kenshin now wondered what it would cost Kagome and her family for their debt to be erased from them.
"Hiko-sama, I don't…" Kenshin was cut off again by a sharp command from his master. Finding it unwise to argue with Hiko when money was involved, silenced himself quickly.
"As I was about to say, what would you possibly give to remove this large debt Higurashi-san?" Hiko smiled as the fat man bowed to him.
"Anything my lord. You may have anything you wish."
"Good, than you agree to marry your daughter to my idiot apprentice. We've got ourselves a deal, Higurashi-san." Hiko grinned as the Higurashi head immediately straightened himself and tried to take back his promise.
"Nearly anything my lord, but please, leave my little girl out of this. My family has nothing to do with my errors and my debts, please…" Kenshin cut off the man's mutterings with his own disapproval.
"I don't agree to this." Kenshin stepped forward towards his master, shielding Kagome unknowingly from his view. "Don't put the innocent into the affairs of the tainted. Leave Kagome and her family out of this. I can take on the debt with no payment from them. You know that I can pay it back with no effort."
"Idiot apprentice should keep their mouths shut when his master is doing him a favor."
"And what favor is this!" Kenshin yelled. "I'm enslaved to you longer by taking on this debt. Don't screw around with peoples lives. She won't have a happy life married to me!"
"You've grown soft, Kenshin." Hiko growled and faced his apprentice with a hard face. "You kill less and less, your swordsman spirit has dulled. You don't have a reason to fight anymore, to clear you debt. I need your sword. Maybe with a woman at your side, you'll strive to live and kill to keep her fed and happy."
"I won't drag her into this. I have no freedom and neither will she or any children I have. I don't want that for my family. If I can't give them freedom, then I won't have a family. I refuse to abandon my children according to your whims."
"And my whims are law to you. I raised your ungrateful ass, boy. I gave you a way to clear your debt faster and far more efficient than anything you could have done for me. And when your debt has cleared and I feel it right, you will have my job as head of this company."
"I don't want it! I swore a blood oath to you to remove my debt as fast as I could, but I will not endanger the happiness and freedom of others!"
"I make no profit off of you if your sword is dull," Hiko spoke low, threatening. "Do you get it now Kenshin? She is the whet stone that will help you to carve out that life of freedom and make me the money you owe back. You are an assassin, the Hitokiri Battosai, and a Hitokiri blade needs to be sharpened by desire and determination, both of which you lack."
Kenshin glared at Hiko, his sword still bloodied and free from its scabbard. He raised it, and with a sharp flick of his wrist, removed the collected blood and sheathed it. He realized he would not win. He never won against Hiko. The least he could do was set a few rules that would make things easier for Kagome and relieve the burden of his debt from her.
"I (Ore) will not tie down anyone, most especially my wife, to your schemes Hiko." Kenshin moved to walk out of the room. "If you are so bent on this match, then so be it, however,"
Kenshin glanced at Kagome. She was covered in Kageomaru's blood. He watched as she rubbed her chaffed wrists and tried to ignore the blood upon her clothes and bare thighs.
"I (Ore) have many conditions to which you must promise and fulfill to the letter. Am I (Ore) clear in that regard?"
Hiko raised his clenched fist. The back of his hand struck Kenshin on the right side of his jaw.
"Cheeky bastard." Hiko grinned. Kenshin spat the blood from his broken lower lip. "Alright, we'll discuss this back at the Crypt."
Hiko turned to leave, motioning for the other two guards to bring the Higurashi head and his wife. The room cleared except for the dead bodies, Kenshin and Kagome.
"I'm sorry about this, I wish I could refuse, but…" Kenshin pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the rope that bound her wrists. Kagome didn't speak a word, but nodded as he spoke while rubbing her chafed wrists. "I don't want you to be disillusioned with the hope of getting out of this marriage. I tried, but once Hiko-sama is convinced that something will help him, he'll do it."
Kenshin wiped the blood off her face with the end of his white sleeve. Blood mixed with her tears as she cried.
"Close your eyes as we enter the hall. Though I've already destroyed the innocence of your eyes, you can rest assured in the promise that I will never let you see another death so long as I live."
With gentle hands Kenshin lifted her into his arms and followed his master to the car parked outfront, smiling into Kagome's raven hair as she cried into his shirt. Not once did she look up to see the dead men crowded in the halls as the left Kageomaru's home for yet another yakuza base.
XxxxxxX
"My conditions are simple," Kenshin began as he entered Hiko's office alone. The Higurashi family was outside with Hiko's secretary as she fetched them something warm to drink.
"I will listen to your conditions as soon as you understand my terms." Hiko growled as he sat behind his desk.
"You will not complain to any assignment I give you and will carry them out quickly and efficiently."
"So long as they don't impose upon my original rules." Kenshin snapped, seating himself on the couches in front of Hiko's desk.
"Yes. No women, no children. That has not been changed. I can only push you so far before you break. Stupid idiot apprentice, stupid pacifistic ways."
"You want my sword, you follow my rules."
"You want to keep those rules you follow my commands." Hiko snapped back. "This marriage is for your benefit, Kenshin. I will expect children."
"I will not force her. Children are her choice, and even if we have children, my debt has nothing to do with them, even in the case of my death."
"If that death is of your own making then the debt is now your child's problem."
"I am not suicidal, but your concerns are understandable. You will care for her and any children we may have in the event of my death."
"Only if that death is a direct result of your duty to me. And you will do as I say, go where I say and kill who I say without complaint. Thought his point may be redundant, you, my idiot apprentice, have a tendency to change my plans. If I require you to leave the country than you will do so, even if that requires you to leave your new wife."
"Only if you give her all the protection and support she needs while I'm away. You do realize, Hiko, now that I have a wife, my general living expense will increase and will continue to do so if we have any children."
"Understandable. So, No forcing your debt onto the family, protection, money and overall security in the event of your death, is this all you want?" Hiko's eyebrow twitched. Kenshin could see the numbers crunching in his master's brain.
"No, there are two more things."
"And what would those be."
"Kagome will never work for you, I'm the only one to pay off my debts."
"And," Hiko raised his eyebrow again, annoyed.
"You give her the wedding she wants, for free."
"How romantic of you." Hiko smirked.
"It's the least I can do, after all, she marrying a killer she doesn't love." Kenshin looked down at his sword and sighed. He stood up and went to bring the family into the room now that their conversation was over.
XxxxxxX
Kenshin leaned against the wall, watching as the family sat on the couches in his boss's office. His classmate, Kagome, was wedged between her father and mother, protectively encircled in her mother's embrace as the woman scrutinized Seijuro Hiko.
Her father was large, with thick arms crossed above his bulging stomach and a graying western-styled mustache. He glowered and sneered, his nose turned up rather high as he peered down at Kenshin and Seijuro Hiko. The burly man waited as Seijuro took his time pouring himself a glass of scotch, Kenshin sighed and turned his head when his boss poured not one, but three glasses. Kenshin straightened from the wall and took both glasses that were handed to him.
"One is for you," Hiko spoke bluntly, taking a sip from his glass. "The other is for your father-in-law."
Nodding, Kenshin handed the crystal glass to the Higurashi head without a word and returned to the wall where he leaned against it, his right leg bent so his foot lay flat against the wood paneling. Kenshin swirled the amber liquid within his glass, watching the square ice cubes bob and crash into one another.
Seijuro raised his glass and smiled. "A toast, Higurashi-san," His eyes swept the small family before him seated silently on his couches. Higurashi never raised his own glass, but stared deep into the contents of the drink as if he wanted to drown in it. Seijuro locked eyes with his pupil and ace-assassin, and broke into a sinister grin.
"To a wonderful and happy business deal. May the couple prosper, I wish you well." Hiko nodded his head and tilted his glass to Kenshin, then to Higurashi-san, before draining it.
Kenshin looked to his own glass and back to the family. He noticed how Higurashi-san placed the untouched glass of expensive scotch onto the marble coffee table and wrapped an arm around his daughter. It seemed the man finally realized what his addictive gambling has cost him.
Kagome looked up and briefly, their eyes meet. Her wide blue eyes were filled with tears and so much regret that it was hard for him to keep his mask on straight. In a cowardice move, he tore his eyes from her and continued to search for answers in his scotch, hoping that maybe the ice cubes would scream something back to him.

And that is it for chapter one!

I hope that you all have enjoyed this first chapter. I hope that I've gotten all the character's personalities down pat. Kagome is simple to write for me now, but Kenshin in Battôsai mind-frame is challenging. Not to mention Hiko! I've changed him so much, well, I think I have. Don't expect regular updates on this story, but I will try to work on it and every other fanfiction I am currently writing.
If you happen to find any grammar mistakes, plot holes, or defects within a character's personality, please let me know. I'll try to fix them immediately, though grammar I can go back and fix once the story is finished.
I also would like all you to know that the structure of the Kendo tournament is completely fictional. I don't know how a real Kendo tournament would work, but for the sake of this story, I have placed it as two levels. The first level with wooden swords known as Bokken and the second, and much more skilled level, with real katana that have been purposely forged to be blunt rather than sharp. I won't go into detail because really it doesn't have a really big role in the story. If you do happen to know how a real Kendo tournament works, I will be very happy to hear about it.
Thank you all for reading. Please review and let me know what you think.
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