Subject: [KFFDISC] "Love and Duty" - Chapter 8
    Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 15:22:46 +0800
    From: " Megan Lavey" <dqbunny@earthlink.net>
Reply-To: kffdisc@nabiki.com
      To: kffdisc@nabiki.com


For those of you who are just joining us,
last year a romance novel of the fairy tale,
"The Wild Swans" was put out. For those of
you not familiar with the tale, it is the
story of how a princess must knit shirts out
of nettles for her 12 brothers who have
turned into swans. She must remain silent
the entire time. During this time, a
handsome king comes along and falls for the
princess. He takes her home and marries her.
Things proceed from there....

I want to apologize for taking so long to
post. Writer’s block combined with a busy
school schedule while I’m getting ready for
graduation doesn’t make for producing
stories very well. Thank you to everyone
for the kind reviews and comments as well.
If anyone wishes to IM me, please do so at
MegsLeigh on AOL Instant Messenger, I love
to gab :-)

"Love and Duty"
by DQBunny

DISCLAIMER: "Rurouni Kenshin" is owned by
Nobuhiro Watsuki. The romance novel form of
"The Wild Swans" is owned by Kate Holmes.
All royalities go to them, I'm just a humble
fanfic writer.

******
Chapter 8

Kenshin stared out the window
toward the horizon. He could see the plumes
of smoke from the shogunate’s camp much
clearer in the light of the setting sun. He
absently drummed his fingers on the stone
ledge, contemplating how his life had
changed within a month. He had gone from
being the caretaker of 12 brothers to the
emperor of Japan. Rather than dwell on that,
he had to focus on his ultimate goal –
protecting Kaoru.

“Himura!”

Misao’s cheerful voice started
Kenshin out of his thoughts. He smiled at
the young okashira as she bounded across
the room to him. She shook her head and made
a tsk-ing sound.

“I swear, you’re horrible, Himura,”
she said, leaning over and poking at the
mound of nettles in his lap. “How are you
ever going to finish those shirts if you
dawdle all the time? We need your brothers
to help us!”

Hai, hai, Kenshin thought bitterly as
he picked up the hated nettles. The
wedding party had left the gardens
discreetly and immediately set off about
their own duties, pretending that nothing
had happened. He had immediately retreated
to his own rooms and resumed knitting with
speed he hadn’t thought possible. Just an
hour ago he had finished Anji’s shirt and
started on Sanosuke’s. His fingers were so
sore he could barely move them, but he had
kept going.

Satisfied that the swordsman was
doing her bidding, Misao began to pace the
room. Kenshin ignored her and worked on the
sleeve, keeping one eye trained on the
horizon to watch for any sudden movement.
The army Kaoru had been left with was too
small to openly confront them. Perhaps with
some ambush tactics, they could chip away
at enough of the shogunate’s forces to
where they could openly confront them.

Misao suddenly walked in front of him,
blocking his view. Kenshin shot her an
annoyed look, then moved his chair to one
side so he could resume his watch. Misao
stepped in front of him once again and
plucked the knitting from his fingers. He
sighed and settled back in his chair.

“Tokugawa will be here at eight in the
morning,” Misao informed him. “You know
what you must do before then, Himura. I’m
counting on you.”

Do? What must he do? Kenshin frowned
at Misao. There was no way he could work out
a secret ambush before the morning,
especially with his brothers being
incapacitated. He didn’t want any
assassins taking pot shots at Tokugawa
either. He was still the shogun and
deserved to stand trial for his actions.

“After all, if he gets Kaoru for some
reason, it’s irreversible proof that
you’re married. Just make sure the two of
you are loud, so people can hear you.”

Loud? Kenshin shot Misao an odd
look and kept on with his knitting.

Misao groaned and slammed her hands on
the arms of Kenshin’s chair. “Hi-mura!” she
cried. “Are you listening at all?”

Kenshin looked up and gave her a sweet
smile and resumed his knitting.
“Gah!” Misao grabbed Kenshin’s gi
and shook him. “For a hitokiri, you’re a
bloody idiot! You need to exercise your
husbandly rights!”

Husbandly rights? Realization began
to dawn on Kenshin. His eyes widened
slightly. Kami-sama, she didn’t mean…

Misao let go of Kenshin when she
noticed the look on his face. “That’s
right,” she nodded. “You need to have sex
with her.”

Kenshin scowled at Misao and pointed
his needles at her, preparing to tell her
exactly what he thought about this
conversation. Before a word could escape
his mouth, a squawk sounded from behind
Misao. Kenshin looked past her to see Sano
standing in the doorway, flapping his wings
wildly. He let the needles fall and he sank
back into his seat with a groan. Damn his
inability to talk.

First thing he was going to do when he
regained his speech was to tell Misao
exactly what he thought about this
conversation. But, until then, he could
enjoy the thought of strangling Sanosuke
instead.

“Good evening, everyone,” Kaoru’s
weary voice preceded the young empress into
the room. She gave Sano a tired smile as
he bobbed his head in respect. She passed
Misao and sank into the chair across from
Kenshin. She stretched her arms and yawned.
“I’m exhausted.”

Misao bowed to Kaoru. “Well, I’ll
leave you to a…relaxing evening. Your
Highness.” She whirled around and bowed to
Kenshin as well. “Your Highness.” Spinning
toward the door, she headed out, grabbing
Sanosuke by the neck as she did so. The
okashira was pinned neatly in the back with
a flying knitting needle as she exited.

“Kenshin!” Kaoru cried as Misao
jumped in the air. She whirled around,
pulled out her kunai, and waved the weapons
at them before closing the door.

Kaoru shook her head as Kenshin tossed
his knitting aside. He was sick of the
project anyhow. He stretched out and
rested his hands on top of his chest. There
was something about the household, even
with all the seriousness going on, that
made him feel more playful, more like a
child again. He gave Kaoru a satisfied
smile.

She sighed. Kaoru sank down into
the cushions and stretched her legs out
like Kenshin’s. Their feet nearly touched
each other. She mimicked her husband by
folding her hands across her chest as well.
“Well, no one suspects a thing,” she said.
“We weren’t gone for very long, and I took
Misao’s advice on the priest.”

Kenshin raised an eyebrow in response.

Kaoru grinned. “I simply locked him in
the dungeon.”

Kenshin bolted up, his jaw sagging in
shock. She WHAT?

She giggled at his response. “You
heard me straight, Kenshin. I locked him in
the dungeon. Don’t worry, he’s being
treated like royalty in there. As soon as
Tokugawa is gone and the secret is out, I’ll
let him go and give him a nice pension as
well.”

Kenshin sighed. A little extreme, but
it would keep the secret from leaking out.
He relaxed once more and stared into the
fire. His muscles slowly sank into the
cushions of the chair. It was nice. He
would spend a relaxing evening alone with
his wife.

Alone…with his wife.

Kenshin shot Kaoru a sidelong glance.
The fire reflected in her blue eyes, making
them seem like flames dancing around. He
wondered what exactly was going on inside
her head at that moment. Compared to her,
his life seemed relatively trouble-free at
the moment. Tomorrow, there was the
possibility that the shogun could come in
and wipe all of them out. She not only had
to think about the inhabitants of Edo
Castle, but the rest of the country as well.

He reached over and took her hand
in his. This startled her, and she looked
at him, the flames still dancing in her eyes.
She squeezed his hand and he smiled.

Kaoru turned her attention back to the fire,
their hands still joined. She didn’t quite
know what to make of the feelings that
coursed through her just by holding hands.
These feelings made her feel unsure.
The night when she and Kenshin nearly made
love with her played back through her mind
once more. Somehow, although they were
more intimate then than they were being at
the moment, it didn’t seem quite as
daunting.

Kenshin’s thumb slowly rubbed up and
down hers, sending small slivers of heat
through her. Kaoru closed her eyes and
tried to comprehend it. Hand her a volume
of something Chinese or Dutch and she could
turn it into something people could
understand. This was something that even
made her afraid. She silently cursed
herself for losing the boldness she seemed
to have when Kenshin arrived. She sighed.
It seemed like adding the term “wife” to the
situation made all of the difference in the
world. If the simple rubbing of thumb
against thumb hadn’t felt so good, Kaoru
would had jerked her hand away and fled the
room to think things through.

But now wasn’t the time to think, was it?

They could die in the morning. The
shogun held his version of honor in the
highest esteem. What if that involved
ambushing the castle and killing them? What
if she was taken prisoner or her marriage
to Kenshin declared void and she had to
marry the shogun? What then?

Kaoru closed her eyes, letting
Kenshin’s simple massage sweep through her.
The feelings she experienced during their
last intimate encounter made her feel
beautiful. It kept her buoyed throughout
the entire trip to Hokkaido and back. He
was little more than a stranger, but he made
her feel the most wonderful things. She was
the first to admit she didn’t know much
about making love. And, if she didn’t take
advantage of tonight, she would never find
out.

For Kaoru knew that if she told him so,
Kenshin would not touch her. That was how
honorable he was.

She looked over at him. Was it her
imagination or did he seem closer to her
than he was before? Before she could
process that information, his lips were on
hers, gently exploring them.

She gasped in surprise, then quickly
threaded her fingers through his hair,
returning the kiss eagerly. He bent over
her, his arms wrapping around her back,
smoothing out the simple work kimono she
wore for castle business.

His fingers reached up into her hair and
pulled the ribbon holding back her ponytail
free. Her hair spilled around her shoulders
and cascaded down her back. His hands
wandered down to the back of her obi, and
like a magician’s,undid the complicated knot
in the back. The sash fell into her lap.
His hands wandered back around to the front,
gently cupping her breasts for a moment
before breaking off the kiss and backing
away from her.

Kaoru’s mouth hung open as Kenshin
simply walked over to the firewood bin and
took a few pieces of kindling to stoke the
fire. He knelt over the fire and seemed to
take forever and a day to arrange the sticks
of kindling precisely to his liking.
Slowly, he stood up and winked at her, a
wicked smile replacing the gentle one. He
approached her once more. Kaoru
straightened her posture and waited for him
to embrace her once more. Instead, he
simply patted her head and walked toward
the door.

Kaoru sat dumbfounded for a moment.
Didn’t he…wasn’t he…why wouldn’t he…her
head snapped around. Kenshin had opened
the door and was now looking up and down the
hall. He shrugged and leaned against the
doorjamb. He shot Kaoru another wicked
grin and then turned his attention to the
hallway.

Kaoru balled her hands into fists.
Mou….she wondered if it was legal for the
empress to rape her husband. She jumped to
her feet, her ribbon and obi falling to the
floor. She marched toward Kenshin, ready
to do battle.

His eyes sparkled merrily at her. With
a laugh, he threw the door shut and scooped
her into his arms. He spun her around for
a moment, then carried them over to the bed.
He gently laid her on it, then climbed up
on it as well. His lips fused with hers and
his hands quickly made work of Kaoru’s
kimono, now that the obi was gone.

Outside of the marriage chamber, two
swans perched on the windowsill, watching
the proceedings. Sanosuke grinned and
nodded his head. Yahiko watched with wide
eyes as he got his fill of sex education.
The two swans were so absorbed in the
couple’s activity that it was a complete
surprise when Saitou promptly rammed both
of them off the windowsill. He landed on
their former perch and turned his back on
the bedroom and settled in to sleep for the
night.

*****

“Announcing, the shogun of Japan,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu!”

Kaoru stood in the courtyard of the
castle, her hands clasped in front of her
as she watched the processional file
through the open gates. It wasn’t as bad
as she thought it would be. She guessed
around 20 men accompanied Tokugawa and
Megumi, who rode on a horse beside him. But,
she was fully aware of the hundreds of
soldiers within a few miles of the castle.
She had to be careful about this.

Tokugawa dismounted and walked toward
the empress. A few feet away, he removed
his helmet and bent down on one knee.
“Hime-sama,” he said. “Thank you for
granting an audience with this unworthy one.
Shall we go inside and conduct our
business?”

Kaoru shook her head. “I’m a very busy
person and do not have enough time to spare
for any long business. It’s such a nice day,
we shall conduct our business here in the
courtyard.”

Tokugawa smiled. “Then I see you have
considered my offer that I sent with
Megumi-san.”

“I have.”

“And your answer?”

Kaoru approached the shogun. “I
decline the offer,” she replied. “I can not
marry you, for I am already married.”

Tokugawa reared back in shock. “You’re lying!”

“It’s true,” Misao spoke up from
her position behind Kaoru. “I was a witness
to her nuptials.”

Tokugawa whirled around to face the
young okashira. Misao smirked at him. He
turned back to Kaoru and stuck a finger in
her face. “This is a lie! Megumi! Check the
empress out! Make sure her virginity is
still intact!”

Kaoru struggled to keep calm while the
man demanded such a vulgar exam. She closed
her eyes and took several deep breaths
before attempting to speak. “You won’t find
anything,” she whispered. “I am a married
woman now.”

Tokugawa grabbed the edges of Kaoru’s
kimono. Misao hissed and immediately
produced a handful of kunai. Behind her,
the Oniwabanshu drew their weapons.

“I would remove your hands from her, ahou.”

The low voice rumbled from the heavens.
Tokugawa immediately released his hold on
the empress and gazed into the sky as the
form of a man shimmered and faded into that
of a swan. He took a step back and stared
at Kaoru. “Who…who the hell did you marry?”
he cried.

Kaoru smiled sweetly. “The Hitokiri
Battousai.”

Tokugawa’s jaw dropped. Kaoru’s gaze
focused on the tower wall behind her. He
followed her gaze up the wall to the top,
where a scarlet-haired man with a
cross-shaped scar on his left cheek stood,
12 swans flocking him. He swallowed
nervously.

His escort began buzzing with the news.
“I can’t believe it,” one of them said. “The
assassin of legends, the Hitokiri
Battousai!”

“He saved me from your family once,”
Kaoru said quietly. “If you go through your
plans of annihilating Edo Castle because I
won’t marry you, he will save me once
again.”

Kenshin gave his brothers a sharp look
and a nod. They immediately took to flight,
swooping down and encircling the
frightened shogun. One by one, they pecked
him on the head and flew back up into the
sky, where they formed a V and waited.

“Kisama!” one of Tokugawa’s personal
guards shouted. He grabbed Kaoru’s arm.

“Kaoru-san!” Misao cried, readying
her kunai.

Before the okashira could move,
Kenshin leapt into the air. He quickly
pulled out his sword and held it over his
head as he sailed toward the ground.

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu…Ryu Tsui Sen, he
thought as the sakabatou cracked the man’s
skull. He immediately let Kaoru go. Kenshin
landed neatly beside his wife and
immediately placed a protective arm around
her waist. A quick squeeze, and he let go,
slowly approaching the shogun.

Tokugawa’s eyes widened with fear and
he sank to his knees. Kenshin stood over the
man and raised his sword, reversing the
blade at the same time. He touched the tip to
the man’s neck and slowly circled him, cutting
a thin line into the skin. Making a complete
circle, Kenshin stepped back, sheathed his
sword, and took his place at Kaoru’s side.
He rested a hand on the hilt of the sakaba,
waiting to see what Tokugawa would do next.

Tokugawa hesitantly fingered the thin
stream of blood that dribbled from the
wound and quickly scrambled to his feet.
“We leave,” he ordered his soldiers in a
cold voice. “But, we’re coming back. May
the gods have mercy on your pathetic
souls,” he added. He spat at Kaoru’s feet,
turned on his heel and left, the small guard
following him.

Misao raised her arm. “Kuro! Take the
east unit and pursue him! Take them down
outside the gates.”

“Wait, Misao,” Kaoru ordered. “Don’t follow them.”

“But…”

“If something happens to Tokugawa
now, his army will sweep down and destroy
Edo Castle. We don’t have enough people to
defend the stronghold. We scared him, so
he’ll stay away for now. That will give us
enough time to build up our own forces.”
Kaoru smiled at Misao. “We won the battle.
Let’s not lose the war.”

*****

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry, Miyu
Sakura-chan, Makyra and others, but I can’t
write a lemon as of yet. I debated a long
time over this, but after reading the beautiful
love scene in annaneko’s “The Spy and the
Hitokiri,” I knew there was no topping that
for a long time. No history bits in this
part, but more to come!

Megs
*******
dqbunny@simplecom.net
AIM: MegsLeigh
http://www.wishing-blue.net/dreamweaver/
--