Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Surrounded By Shadows ❯ Turquoise Tears ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Well, in this one we have the heroine [again] who seems to be having a slight bit of trouble, her best friend with lame jokes and some guy eating another guy...yay?

Anime/Manga: Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.07.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 471 | Status: Work In Progress

Here's the edited (and hopefully better) version of Chapter two, Turquoise Tears

Disclaimer:

Kenshin's hair is red,

Kaoru's eyes are blue,

I own Rurouni Kenshin

And I'm a liar too!

From Chapter One: Crimson Corruption

Kaoru had just entered the kitchen, her blue hair up in the everyday high ponytail. Misao walked over and tugged gently on a strand of hair framing her friend's face.

"I don't see why you don't put it up into a braid or something... its so...loose" Kaoru grinned and yanked Misao's own foot long braid.

"'Cause I like my hair loose, now come on...you wanted to go, let's go" Laughing the pair exited the apartment, unaware of the glowing crimson eyes that watched their every movement.

Kaoru pushed her chair back and stood, wincing as her inactive legs tingled. Stretching, Kaoru yawned, the boredom of sitting at a desk for hours getting to her. Sighing the girl quickly stacked all the papers littered on her desk into a nice neat pile. 'Unlike Misao' she thought lethargically but no matter how much she nagged the younger girl, Misao would never touch the mounds of paperwork covering her desk unless of course....

"MISAO!!! GET IN HERE!" Misao grinned and popped her head around the doorway.

"Mou! Kaoru whaddya want?"

"Daily reminder to…clean your desk!" Misao grimaced; she shouldn't have stuck her head in and groaned, stomping in and hopping up to sit on Kaoru's desk.

“I don't want to Kao! Besides,” she remarked with a grin, “Your desk is clean enough for the both of us!” Kaoru rolled her eyes and wiped her desk down with a rag,

“You know that's because I wouldn't be able to smell anything for weeks if my office was dusty. It's bad enough that we still have to use paint for the ads, but dust is even worse. Being a vampire isn't the best thing in the world, despite the,” Misao groaned and chimed along with her,

“Super human strength, delicate senses and obvious good looks.” Misao sighed quietly but smirked,

“I don't think that last one applies to you Kao-chan!” Kaoru glared at her and tossed a pencil at the energetic girl's head.

“You're hanging around Megumi too much Mi.” Misao laughed and vaulted off Kaoru's desk.

“Yeah, but still, being a vampire is way cooler than being human. You can see auras and run really fast! Plus, you have a special ability!” Kaoru looked at her questioningly,

“I didn't tell you that…how'd you know?” Misao smiled sadly and walked to the door before replying,

“Aoshi…told me…” Kaoru sighed but had no chance to reply before the girl skipped down the hallway, a smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks. With a groan, Kaoru threw herself into her chair and buried her face in her hands.

Aoshi had been Misao's best friend since they were little and they had started dating when Misao turned 15 (Aoshi turning 18). The two were inseparable and they were planning to get married when Aoshi disappeared. Aoshi had been a ninja for a powerful businessman, providing a bodyguard service against the underworld monsters: werewolves, vampires and other creatures. Then one day he was gone, right before their wedding. Misao had been heartbroken but refused to believe that he was dead, much to her family's chagrin. They had already planned for her to marry another man. Misao had refused and was disowned, just in time for college and she moved in with Kaoru.

With another sigh, Kaoru rose and followed the path the girl had taken, stopping for a second by the staff room for some cheering up goodies (mainly food with lots of sugar) before going into Misao's office.

~*~*~*~*~

Kaoru watched as Misao skipped back into the still messy office. They had just gone out to lunch and the girl was already invigorated with the thought of leaving for the day, her mind safely distracted from Aoshi.

Shaking her head in sympathy, Kaoru sighed and wandered to the bathroom. As she washed her hands, she glanced up to gaze thoughtfully in the mirror. Despite common belief, vampires did have reflections…or at least, a majority did, the ones that were bitten by a vampire with high enough power to give their childe an aura and thus, a reflection. Her stomach rumbled and Kaoru rolled her eyes, infuriated with her high metabolism. Human food did nothing to fill her up, if anything it made her hungrier for a vampire's usual menu, blood.

Looking back at the mirror, her eyes narrowed as her reflection shimmered then disappeared, Kaoru's eyes widened and she reached a hand up to rub her temples in an attempt to ward off the oncoming headache. Her reflection did occasionally disappear but that was only when she was dead tired. No pun intended of course, Kaoru thought with a quick grin. Blinking as her vision blurred, Kaoru shook her head gently.

Work was getting to her that was all…she sighed at her own stupidity and paranoia. She reached out and ripped off a piece of paper towel, drying her hands quickly so she could run back to her nice, dark, office. Suddenly her eyes widened and she froze as her sight shifted from normal colours to strange shapes and auras.

`Nonononononono this can't be happening now! I ate just last week!' Throwing the paper towel to the ground, Kaoru grasped the counter, leaving hand shaped imprints in the metal as her vision blurred again, throwing her thoughts into chaos. It was back. As her sight shifted once more, Kaoru's knees buckled and she dimly felt her head smashing against the porcelain tiles. It was back, even though logically it shouldn't come again for another week and a half, it was back, her hunger. Her strange aura vision was covered by darkness and Kaoru welcomed the relief from her horrendous thoughts...Only to find herself in bloodier nightmares...

~*~*~*~*~*~

Misao scrubbed fruitlessly against the hard oak wood of her desk. Kaoru had vanished again but Misao didn't mind. Kaoru was like that...so predictable yet...so unusual. Sighing the girl scrubbed even harder before realizing something.

“Where's that muffin I saved from the restaurant?” She glared at her desk, wishing for the power to make it spontaneously combust into a fiery wreck. "Kaoru! Gimme back my muffin!"

Misao stomped down the hallway and flung the door to Kaoru's office open, her shoulders slumping when the room proved to be empty. Walking to the worker's lounge, she knocked violently on the door, voicing Kaoru's name. Disgruntled yells and shouts sent Misao into a blush and the girl quickly turned and dashed away. "Ok…so she wasn't in there…but then where is she? She could be anywhere! Maybe she went to visit Megumi, she did look kind of hungry today" Shrugging, the girl turned and skipped back to her office, already forgetting about the muffin.

~*~*~*~*~

The dark shadow sighed and lifted his amethyst orbs to gaze thoughtfully at the moon, the amber in his eyes hidden by the violet hue. Casting out his senses the man's lips turn up in the semblance of a smile. Finding nobody he released his other side, the primal animalistic side of him that begged to be released…begged to be fed but was always shoved behind a mask of humanity. Too many people knew of his legend, how his amber eyes gleamed in the darkness that he was a part of…so he used his Ki to change his appearance, the single line across his cheek turning into a cross, his emotions easily seen and the amber in his eyes suppressed by purple. As the amber rose to the surface the man's face took on a colder demeanour, the face of a man who had seen too many people killed to care. As he gently breathed in the air around him he grinned and his pearly white fangs were clearly visible.

She was close

Hoisting his bag higher up on his shoulder, he burst into a light run, red hair flying out behind him.

She was close… and he was going to get her.

Running harder, his senses caught whiff of a band of travelers. Smirking, he altered his course and took to the trees, his feet lightly resting on a branch for a moment before taking off again. Pausing on one branch, he gazed down thoughtfully at the caravan of people, traders and merchants by the look of it, selling everyday microchips and common technology. So similar but yet so different, he mused, from the olden days.

Stealthily he climbed down the tree and blended instantly into the shadows of the forest. Quickly and silently, he reached out and shagged a man by the back of his shirt, yanking the drunken traveler into the darkness of the trees before he sank his teeth into the man's neck. Quickly throwing him at a tree, the vampire hissed and spat out the small amount of blood he had taken. It was disgusting. All blood was disgusting to him now, the taste tainted compared to the exquisite tang of one person. His amber eyes glowed and he smirked, the man's blood dripping down his chin and hitting the ground.

Grimacing the amber slowly receded and the purple took over. Scrubbing the blood off his face with one arm, he hauled the man to the edge of the campsite. He wouldn't die or become a vampire like so many thought. He'd merely be unconscious for a couple of days at the most. Slowly the vampire turned and strode off back into the forest, his tongue wiping away the last residues of blood lingering around his mouth.

As silently as he had come, the man disappeared into the vast woods, his blood-coloured hair being last thing to fade into the shadows.

Misao cheerfully walked down the sidewalk, her braid smacking painfully against the back of her knees. Sighing the girl grabbed her hair and flung it over her shoulder. Happy with the results she sped up, hoping to get to the Kitsune Clinic quicker. Reaching the place, she reached out a hand and pressed a finger against the gel-like fingerprint scanner by the door. As her door chimed her name, Misao Makimachi, it slid open and she happily stepped in, eagerly chiming out a greeting,

"HELLO! ANYONE IN HERE?" Misao took a quick look around and started off down one of the many hallways. As she turned the corner she found herself sitting painfully on the ground. "Wha-?" A giant hand reached down and yanked her up by the back of her shirt.

"What do we have here? Weasel?" Misao stiffened and flailed her arms trying to reach far enough to get her tiny hands around his neck.

"Shut up Rooster! My name is not weasel!" His deep bellowing laugh echoed around the corridor,

"I take it you're here to see the Kitsune?" Misao glared at him before kicking him on the shin.

"Lemme go Rooster!" Sanosuke quickly dropped her and clutched at his injured shin.

"That hurt!"

"Serves you right" Before she could stop herself she stuck her tongue out at the fighter. "So there!" Nose held high in the air she continued on, pausing once to flick her braid at him revelling in the painful howl that rose up behind her as the metal clasp securing her hair together slammed against his arm. Giggling she ran off and quickly knocked on Megumi's door, " Megumi? Are you in there?" The door opened and the doctor stepped out, her long brown hair pulled up into a loose bun, various pencils and pens sticking out of it.

“What do you need weasel-girl?” Misao glared at her but burshed the insult off,

“Is Kaoru here?”

"What are you talking about? Tanuki hasn't been here all day" the doctor grinned evilly and Misao could almost see the fox ears adorning her scheming head. "Maybe she met a nice man and is happily ravishing him in a corner somewhere!" Misao blanched at the older woman and shook her head.

“That's just wrong…even for you Megumi…” Megumi pouted and her arms folded over her chest as she looked down at the shorter girl. Knowing the doctor was about to insinuate some thing else, Misao quickly spun on her heel and strode purposefully back down the hallway she had come.

“Thanks fox-lady, I guess that's a no and I have to go check somewhere else…” As she turned the corner, the doctor frowned at the nickname and returned to her office,

“What was wrong with that line? I thought it was good…”