Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

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
- 3
Chapter 2:
Normal is a concept best left unidentified.
Kagome ignored her friends as they tried to question her about the nasty bruises she had on her neck and arms.
"I'm fine guys, seriously!" Kagome sighed and fell into her seat with ten minutes to spare before first bell. "I told you, my brother and I got into an argument at home, and things just got out of hand."
Eri leaned across the back of her chair and over Kagome's desk, pulling Kagome's arm over it for a better look.
"This is a bit more than rough play, Kagome!" Eri traced a particularly deep colored bruise near Kagome's elbow which instantly made her flinch from the pain.
"Eri, stop prodding Kagome, can't you see that it hurts her." Ayumi pulled Eri's hand from her arm and gave Kagome an apologetic smile. "You don't have to tell us right away, but you should at least see the nurse."
"Ayumi's right, you should see the nurse." Yuka pushed her headband out from her eyes where it had fallen and tugged Kagome out of her chair by her wrist. Kagome cringed again in pain and hoped that the makeup she used to cover the bruises there, and on her face, wouldn't wear off anytime soon. "We'll even tell Kaede-sensei that you weren't feeling well, and I'm sure Ayumi will take excellent notes."
"Hey, take your own notes Yuka!" Ayumi scowled at her friend who sheepishly rubbed the back of her head with her free hand. "But seriously, you need to see the nurse."
"I'm fine. It's nothing I can't handle. Remember the time I fell off my bike at the top of my grandpa's shrine," Kagome shuddered at the memory, and it seemed her friends remembered as well, for they too stopped tittering and Yuka even let go of her hand.
"Yea," Eri piped up solemnly. "I remember. You were in the hospital for a week with the injuries you got from the tumble down those stairs."
"I'm surprised your grandfather still lives there with the heart attack you gave him that day." Yuka added.
"If I can survive that sort of pain, then this should be a piece of cake. Once I'm done with all these bruises, I'll get Souta back for sure!" Kagome managed a half smile, but instead of picturing her brother's face, she could only feel the fat, slimy hands of Kageomaru and his men as they touched and beat her. And as Kageomaru's face faded, Kenshin's face appeared, just as cold, hard and unfriendly as it had that night, the cross shape mark strongly cut onto his face.
"Well, since we can't convince you to go to the nurse, then maybe the newest gossip will cheer you up!" Eri's smile broke Kagome's momentary lapse into last night. Kagome resigned herself to this old habit of theirs and sat down again at her desk.
"Oh, Eri, did you read the newspaper today!" Yuka squealed as she pulled her desk chair closer to the two huddled around Kagome's desk and sat down. "Battosai killed someone else last night!"
"Really!" Ayumi gasped.
The three friends didn't notice Kagome suddenly sit straighter in her chair, or how she began to rub the concealed bruises on her wrists as they continued to speak of the town's so called 'hero'. You'd think people wouldn't overlook the fact that just because he killed corrupt and evil men, didn't mean he wasn't himself an evil person.
But that wasn't true, was it. Kenshin wasn't evil. At least, not the Kenshin she though she knew. The Kenshin from last night, he saved her from Kageomaru, right? So, could Battosai really be…good? Could Kenshin be…evil?
"Yea." Yuka rummaged through her school bag and pulled out a paper clipping from this morning's news. "It says that he killed the known loan shark and mob boss Kageomaru Tendo and his men late last night. The police couldn't even find a single hair from the guy, no blood, no nothing! In fact, the place was totally clean."
Kagome shivered and glanced over towards the empty desk of Kenshin Himura. Was he not going to come in today because of the heavy press coverage? No, that can't be it. He'd done many of these large killings and still come to school the next day, at least, from what she'd read from the papers. Could it be because of her? Was he angry at her for sticking him with her family's debt?
"So, now that we know this," Yuka's hands went back into her bag as Kagome returned to their conversation and twisted away from Kenshin's empty desk. "Who do you think the Battosai really is!"
Yuka pulled from her bag a small but a very thick notebook and flipped to nearly half way, most of it was filled with clippings from newspapers. She pulled the newest clipping of the mass murderer and added it to her notes with a quick two staples and flipped to the beginning again, where a tally sheet was badly drawn. Several columns split the notebook, one for each friend, and below it were a multitude of names and numbers. The last row's consensus: Battosai is a 40 year old business man.
"So, do we still think he's forty?" Yuka asked with her favorite glittery pink pen and matching feather's at the top poised, ready for a response. "Eri, what do you think?"
Eri took a moment to tap her finger against her chin and look thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Well, he'd have to be younger than 40 now, since he killed so many people in one night."
"But he couldn't have done it alone." Ayumi pulled Yuka's notebook closer and flipped through the clippings. "He's been at it for years, so he's got the experience, but I seriously doubt that he could have done it without any sort of help."
They were wrong. Kagome knew it, but she wouldn't dare say anything to them, at least, nothing definitive. Kenshin had killed those men single handedly, quite literally. She didn't recall him every putting two hands on his sword except when he slashed through the heavy body of Kageomaru.
Kagome tried to blink away the repeating images of falling limbs and bloody rain as Kenshin easily hacked apart those men. Did he really mean to save her, or was she just lucky that Hiko chose that day to be extra angry with her father's loan shark?
"The bodies only had slash marks, Ayumi." Yuka stole back her notebook quickly and flipped back to the first page. "I think he's got to be at least 32." Yuka scribbled her latest guess beneath her column.
"But that would make him 25 when he started." Ayumi gave Yuka an incredulous look before turning to Eri and Kagome.
"Well he has been at it undisturbed for seven years." Eri added. "Who's to say there aren't any more killings that we don't know about before that?"
"But-" Ayumi didn't finish as Kagome cut in with a whisper.
"What if he was our age?" Kagome shifted in her seat, trying not to glance back at Kenshin's empty desk.
"When he started?" Yuka asked. "That'd be cool, but it would make him 24. Is that what you want to put down in your column, Kagome?"
"No. I mean, what if he's 17 now. Do you think it'd be possible?"
Would her friends believe her if she told them the truth? Could what happen last night really have been true? Maybe it wasn't Kenshin she saw, maybe it was someone else, someone that looked like Kenshin? Maybe….Kenshin's evil twin?
Oh, who was she trying to kid! Kenshin didn't have an evil twin! But, could a seventeen year old really manage the courage…the lack of emotion…to kill so many people?
Eri's laugh seemed to burst out through her nose. She leaned against Kagome's desktop to hide her face as she tried to breathe. Yuka suppressed giggled behind her notebook, and Ayumi just bit her lip and half-smiled as she tried not to laugh.
"I'm being-"
"Serious." Eri finished with a snort. "Seriously, Kagome! That'd make him, what, ten when he started. That's just insane!"
"This isn't a manga, Kagome." Yuka added, smoothing out her notepad and crossing out the 24 she added beneath Kagome's name. "This is the real world. If he started at ten years old, then he's either insane, or with the Yakuza, or both."
"I have to agree with them, Kagome." Ayumi agreed shyly. "It, it just doesn't seem right for a ten year old to pick up a sword."
Kagome sighed and lowered her head to close her eyes. Images of Kenshin's quick battle against the thugs of Kageomaru, and the rain of blood, still seared behind her eyelids, played out again and again. "It was just a thought. But it could be possible."
Yuka sighed and scribbled beneath Kagome's name the number seventeen. "Okay Kagome, I'll put it down, but you know, when they catch him, he's not going to be our age."
"If they ever catch him." Kagome whispered. Her friends grew silent and thought briefly of the possibility of the Battosai ever being caught.
"Well, for his sake, and ours, I hope he never is caught." Yuka broke the silence and placed way her notebook before returning to her desk. "The world could really use a hero like him, even if he is committing a sin."
"Yea, he'll be sent to death for this." Eri muttered quietly and turned to face forward just as last bell rang. "I hope they won't judge him too harshly for what he's done. I mean, he killed a lot of evil men, so he can't be all that bad."
Kagome looked up at the clock, startled. When did first bell ring?
She glanced over at Kenshin's desk, still empty, but Miroku was looking at her odd. A hand squeezed Kagome's left shoulder briefly, startling her from Miroku's gaze.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright, Kagome?" Ayumi asked.
"I'll be fine, Ayumi. Thank you." Kagome managed to say.
"If you're sure," With that, Ayumi returned to her desk behind Kagome and to her left.
As Kaede-sensei began their lesson with roll call, Kagome glanced at Kenshin's desk when his name came with no reply. When she made to turn around to focus on the lesson, Kagome caught a pair of deep lavender eyes, very similar to Kenshin's only darker, staring at her. Miroku raised an eyebrow at her and turned forward, as if nothing happened. However, Kagome's heart pounded in her chest.
Why was he looking at her? Did he know? Did he know where Kenshin was? Who he was?
Kagome couldn't quite focus in class all morning as thoughts of Kenshin, Miroku and her upcoming marriage seemed to drown out the math lesson. Math wasn't as interesting anyway.
XxxxxxX
He was staring at her again. She didn't know why, but Miroku had taken a strange fascination to her today. Before he never bothered to look at her, but all throughout math and English, Miroku did nothing but glance over at her every few minutes.
Kagome tapped her pencil against her textbook, the lines of Shakespeare's Hamlet blurred beneath her unfocused eyes.
She tried to ignore Miroku, even went so far as to ask for an escape to the restroom to make sure that her makeup was still in place. It was.
Kagome left the restroom and slowly made her way back to class. The halls were empty, but that was understandable. What she could not figure out, was why she didn't want them to be.
Kagome turned into another corridor, one that led away from her math class and Miroku. She made it down the stairs, past the front office and to the main doors of the school before she even realized where she was. Her hand pressed against the cool metal of the front doors, ready to push them out of her way. Where was she going? She couldn't quite remember. As she turned to move back to class, a hand appeared on her shoulder.
Flashes of thick, sweaty hands pressing her into her kitchen counter raced through her as she thought of Kageomaru and his gang. She screamed and quickly pulled the arm off, smacking and punching as another caught her around the waist as she tried to flee. Tears spilled down her face, running the makeup she spent hours perfecting in her vanity mirror instead of sleeping before school.
She screamed again and bucked against her assailant. But he was stronger and far larger than her, and as his arms tightened around her waist, trapping her hands in his own against the door, she heard someone call out to her.
"Calm down, I'm sorry!"
Kagome slowly stopped fighting against the strong body that pinned her against the school's front doors. She opened her eyes, not remembering when she closed them (though remembering things was increasingly becoming a problem for her) and stared through tear filled eyes into deep lavender.
"Are you calm now?" Miroku unwound his arm from her waist and released her arms gently when she nodded. He stepped back a bit when she immediately hugged herself, forming a barrier of arms between herself and her classmate.
"I," Kagome took a deep, shaky breath when her voice cracked and strained. She swallowed several times before speaking again. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."
She couldn't meet his face. He was staring at her again, only this time he probably thought she was some nut job off her pills.
"Kagome," Miroku spoke so softly that Kagome couldn't avoid his searching gaze anymore. What she found in those eyes, she didn't want to see. Pity. "Did someone hurt you?"
Miroku lifted a hand to her left cheek. A bruise she had gained from the uncomfortable and rocky car ride to Kageomaru's had left her with several bruises, the worst one now under scrutiny from Miroku.
"Fine," She managed to mutter as she tried to hide her face. Miroku wouldn't let her turn her head as he gently wiped more makeup off with a swipe of his thumb.
"That's bullshit." He wiped more off her face and turned to inspect her wrist when she tried to remove his hand with her own. "And these more than prove it."
Suddenly and without warning, Kagome could not stand Miroku. The care, the pity, the protection, the tenderness he showed her, all of it. She hated it. Her rage consumed her whole, instantly and unstoppable. Miroku's tender hands wiping away makeup, wiping away her security from the world, easily revealing her flaws, her problems; she loathed it. It was as if last night's events were easily read upon her skin and she could not stand the thought of her own skin betraying her privacy.
Kagome was yelling at now, she couldn't even make out half the words she aimed towards the innocent deep lavender eyes, but to her, they were not innocent. They were dark, deadly and set above a cross-shaped scar.
She hated him. Despised him with a passion she could not name, but knew it went further than bone-deep. She hated needing to be rescued. She hated fearing him, having to even see him again scared her. He broke her, not Kageomaru. Kageomaru did not give her hope and tear it away as he showed her death. A death that could easily have been her own should he become cross with her. He did not confuse her as he did.
"What the hell do you care?"
Her mind caught up to her mouth, and she was mildly horrified to see her classmate taking slow steps away from her. Miroku didn't deserve it. Her words weren't meant for him. But he was there. He was here to hear them when she needed to say them. Kenshin was not here.
Teachers and students were now outside their class room doors. Even the principal had managed to make a rare appearance. She didn't let up, however. She didn't care who heard. She didn't care if Hiko found this a breach of contract. She wanted the world to know how much it wronged her. How much her father sold her for! How she wanted her freedom back! She wanted the choice, she wanted to choose who she married, who she could love, who she could talk to in times of chaos…in times like these.
"You haven't spoken so much as a word to me since you transferred here, and you expect me to open up. To cry in your arms and spill my deep dark secrets to you!"
Kagome was now shoving him. But if was not Miroku she was angry at, well, not entirely at least. Kenshin deserved this anger. He's the one that deserved to be hit and shoved as she grieved over her broken peace-of-mind. She cursed Kageomaru, her father, everyone, for her problems. Miroku just happened to spark her anger when he expected to become her knight in shining armor. Sorry, that position is not hiring!
"Kagome," His voice as soft, and far away, almost hurt. Had Kagome been in any other state of mind, she might have backed away. She would have stopped. But she hated him. She hated Kenshin. Hiko. Her father. Everyone.
With a final hard shove, she managed to get him on the floor.
"Fuck off, Miroku!" Kagome was crying again, shaking. She hugged herself to control herself, hoping that by holding herself this way, she could prevent the pain from spreading any further. Prevent her mind from shattering any more. Prevent Kenshin, no, Battosai, from stealing her soul.
"All of you…" Her voice was gone, cracked and dry. "Mind your own…" She could not finish as she fell to her knees and wept.
"Will I ever be normal again," She whispered to herself, unwitting that Miroku heard her.
XxxxxxX
"Hey, when are you going to be back in town?" Miroku spoke into the phone low. Rooms in the Crypt weren't known for thick walls and respectful tenants. It was a simple hobby of all that worked there to snoop around, especially if there was any news related to Battosai and his identity. Hiko was making his job much more difficult than it was.
"I should be there by tonight, why, has something happened?"
Miroku sighed. Why did he even bother calling? He was stressing the boy out more than necessary. Kagome would get over it, he was sure of it—maybe…
"Kenshin, what exactly happened at the Tendo estate?"
There was a pause over the line, then, shots rang out from the other end.
"Kenshin!" Miroku looked around his room, double checking that the gunfire hadn't originated from his end of the conversation.
"Sorry, I should have warned you that I was working a job when you called."
"Damn it!" Miroku sighed and fixed himself on his single futon to a more comfortable position. "Warn a guy before you start shooting people. I thought we were under attack here, or worse, you finally met your match."
"That will be a day I hope I never see, Miroku." There was another brief pause in conversation while a shot was fired. "Now, what did you really call for? I know you don't miss me and the troubles I cause you."
Who said that boy wasn't smart? Miroku thought bitterly. They give him too little credit. Sure, most people here thought he was a lowly Rat, working intelligence under Aoshi, and pushing papers across offices.
"Well, it turns out that your new fiancé is having a meltdown."
"What happened?"
Though it didn't sound like it, Miroku noticed that Kenshin sounded stressed, tired, and…worried.
"She's shell-shocked. Dazed and confused. Not to mention heavily bruised and mentally unstable at the moment." Miroku took a moment for a breath, recollecting his thoughts of his encounter with and unhinged Kagome. "She resents you for something. At least, that's what I think. She didn't say all this directly."
"You asked me about what happened at the Tendo Estate, right?"
"Yes. I feel it's linked to what happened there. You said you saved her from something, but you didn't mention anything else."
"I'm surprised you don't already know. You're Aoshi's prized student after all. I would think you'd have all the information about the Tendo Estate and my connection to it and Kagome."
"Yes, well, I would if Hiko didn't have it under such tight lock and key."
"Yes. He would keep this top secret."
"What's going on Kenshin? How is Kagome connected in all of this?"
"I saved her and her family from the Tendo Estate. Kageomaru was loaning money without keeping track of how his clients would pay him back. To pay Hiko back the money, he started a side business of drug trafficking and prostitution."
"What!"
"Kageomaru was going to sell Kagome and her mother into prostitution. If I had to take a guess as to her father's fate, well, he'd probably be trafficking drugs right now. Either way, he was molesting her in front of her family and his entourage when I got there."
"You really are the people's Hero."
"No, I'm a killer with a conscience, but a killer nonetheless."
"What are you going to do about Kagome? You can't just leave her as she is. I don't think she can recover on her own."
"I don't know. I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. I can't save her from everything. It's just not possible. I can't even stop Hiko from marrying us."
"So he really is going to do that."
"You heard about that then?"
"Who hasn't?" Miroku glanced at the clock and blanched when the time struck two in the morning. "I'm a bit more informed, but people know that Battosai is going to get married."
"If they ever find out who I am, I'm doomed."
"Yes, yes, you would be."
"Miroku, do me a favor."
"Don't worry about Kagome, I'll try to take care of it."
"Thanks, Miroku. I owe you one."
"I'm not doing all of it! Just the initial step."
"I wouldn't ask you to. It's my responsibility. It's just, once I get home, I'm out again on another assignment."
"If she asks me where you are…"
"Give her my cell number. She can call any time."
"You'll make a great husband for her, you know that."
"No. I can't even protect her from myself, how does that make me a good husband." An engine started and Kenshin spoke quickly before hanging up. "Thanks for calling, Miroku. I appreciate it."
"No problem. That's what friends are for." Miroku replied, but the phone was already dead.
Miroku smiled to the white ceiling of his small room in the crypt and whispered to the painted walls, hoping it would reach his young friend: "The reason for time is so everything doesn't happen at once, Kenshin. You'll figure things out in time."
Man, Einstein really was a genius.
XxxxxxX
"Clinging onto the dead is never wise." Hiko said as he entered the open air courtyard. Kenshin watched his master from the top of the brick wall that divided the courtyard from the hundred story fall to the concrete metropolis below. He hadn't been home long enough to enjoy the break before Hiko had given him another assignment. When Kenshin was actually staying at the Crypt instead of his actual house, he was normally out on the rooftop courtyard or down in the basement dojo.
Kenshin ignored his master and returned to staring into the cloud of smoke from his near spent cigarette.
Rich black hair and deep ebony eyes danced within the smoke's pale face. Her lips moved, and briefly, Kenshin could feel them softly pressed on his own before the sting of cold metal on an old wound burned within his chest. His fingertips lightly brushed across his chest, the raised edge of a thin scar, unnoticeable through the cotton shirt he wore were it not for the memory to remind him of its searing place. Ash dropped from the cigarette as he took a deep breath in of her memory and smoke.
"Kenshin, it's time you forget about her. This new girl should do you some good." Hiko grabbed the cigarette from Kenshin's right hand and crushed it beneath his shined dress shoes. Kenshin didn't bother to blink, he drew a fresh one from the box seated next to him and lit it with the quick strike of a match.
"Damn it Kenshin!" Hiko growled, but left the new cigarette alone. "If this shit kills you, then your debt goes to Kagome, do you understand!"
Kenshin glared at his master, turned briefly to face him and flicked the lit cigarette at Hiko's face. "And whose fault is it that I smoke now." Kenshin jumped down from the wall and began to walk inside. "She didn't have to die." He stopped at the door to face his master one last time. "I blame myself, and you, for that."
Hiko ignored the cigarette burn on his cheek to watch it roll towards its brother. He curled his fist tightly and cursed as Tomoe's memory continued to haunt them and destroy Kenshin's soul.
XxxxxxX
Hiko glanced at the reaper before him. Saito had transferred her swiftly upon his request for his best female assassin.
She seemed capable, but he couldn't be too sure. Much like Kenshin, she was small, though taller than his own apprentice; the girl was thin, and a bit young in his opinion. However, he could not judge her by age and appearance alone. His pupil was proof of the major discrepancies of image versus skill, a mistake that could cost a person their life.
"How long have you been working under Saito, Miss—"
"Yamanaka," The girl supplied. "Sango Yamanaka. I've studied and worked under Saito for nearly eight years now. "
Hiko frowned beneath his crossed fingers. Eight years was not nearly long enough to gain the skill he needed her to have.
"Unfortunately, Miss Yamanaka," Hiko's eyes zeroed in on the girl's shift of weight in her chair. "Eight years is not enough experience for the job I require of you."
"Then, if I may sir," Sango smirked and leaned forward shortly, an intimidation tactic that did not work on Hiko. "It is good that I have studied various forms of marital arts since before I could walk."
"Have you now?" Hiko did not feel all that impressed or intimidated by the information. Many have claimed to be studied in the intricate arts of violence, but never delivered upon request of true skill farther than tournament display.
"I have sir." Sango leaned back again, settling comfortably in her chair this time. "The name Yamanaka is well known in the underground world for contract kills and bodyguard work."
"If that is true, then why work for me?" Hiko knew the name well, however, only men worked in the actual family business, at least, from what he has experienced. He laid many Yamanaka to rest in the effort to execute his business deals. Most had fallen to the swords of his apprentice and head of the Reaper department, Saito Hajime.
"Contrary to popular belief, women are also trained, however the men work the field while the wives teach the young ones." Sango sneered but quickly covered it with a cough. "We'd have died out if the men only knew the clan's secrets. Average life expectancy is 36 years. You'd be lucky to live longer than that, or very skilled."
"And what exactly did—"
"Excuse me, sir. But that is none of your business." Sango cut Hiko's question sharply.
"Very well. After a demonstration of your skills, though highly recommended by Saito as rare as that is, I will give you the details of your assignment."
"And, out of curiosity," Sango rung her fingers, stretching them with a distinct pop. "What will this assignment entail?"
"Let's just say you will be guarding a very important asset of mine."
"How important?"
"Let's just say, if she is injured in any way, or worse, killed, your head is sole property of Battosai."
"B-Battosai!" Sango stuttered. It shamed her to show fear for his stupid apprentice, a guess he was sure to be correct if her tightened grip on the wood of the arm chair was any sign, but none the less, it shocked her greatly.
"Yes. You will be guarding his fiancé." A smile cracked his face at the thought of his apprentice and that girl. They would be good for one another…eventually. "Any questions?"
"N-no."
"Good." Hiko stood from his desk to remove his suit jacket. "The dojo is in the basement, second level. Ask my secretary for Battosai's personal key. Tell her I sent you." He looked her over quickly before continuing.
"You have an hour to prepare yourself. I will be there to test you then," As he stood to leave Hiko called out to her for a last reminder.
"Oh, and Sango," She turned to face him from the door, still shell-shocked from her assignment. "Don't hold back."
With that, Hiko left to his private bath to change.

Sorry, I know that it reads like a filler chapter, but I thought that since I had such an explosive first chapter, I should probably slow down a bit and explain some things. If there is still any confusion, please let me know and I'll address it.

There is artwork up on my deviant art account for this fan fiction if anyone wishes to see it. Just click onto my profile page on this website and there will be a link for you to follow.
I also want to thank everyone for your reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me.
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Saimu no Ken