13Avatar cover art: Battousai by deviantartist, prismadragonfly
I do not own neither Rurouni Kenshin nor Beauty and the Beast
Sorry for the delayed update. Please enjoy.
Cherry blossom petals showered upon the dying man, staining red when their pink skin touched his blood.
"Tomoe…" He said, seeing a dimming vision of his beloved as his life faded away, "forgive me my love. Forgive-" His words were cut off as a blade pierced his neck, ending in a wet gurgle.
In a realm outside of the human world, the person who the named belonged to felt his death snuff out like a flame of a wicker, the loss as painful as if it had been her own flesh that had been torn through.
A soundless cry erupted from within her soul, louder and more profound than a siren's wail. She departed from her realm and into that of the human world's where she found her beloved laying in a pool of blood.
A young mortal man with hair the color of rusted steel stood over the mangled still-warm body, as he caught sight of the marvelous being that had appeared in a flurry of white plum petals. His blade was smeared with that her beloved's blood, along with the blood of the his comrades who were strewn about in twisted bundles. This man reeked of blood, the aura of his spirit and blade revealing that he had taken away many lives. He was no more than 16 years of age, yet he carried the burden of over a hundred souls. On the left side of his cheek was a mark of the resolution of her beloved Akira's spirit to not die, which not had been completely been in vain, for now he would always carry the scar with him until his last breath.
Her bottomless black eyes went from carrying irrepressible agony for her beloved Akira to that of great disdain and anger towards the red-headed manslayer. Her aura shook that manslayer into fear, a sensation he had not felt in years.
"You," she said, her voice like wind breezing through ice crystals. "You who have taken many lives in the name of your ideals, have caused the sky to bleed."
And as she said this, the sky did in fact begin to shower with red droplets of blood upon everything except the pair of lovers, covering the air with its metallic scent. The blood stung his eyes and painted his vision red.
He now realized what she was. A being of myth, of tales that once he believed untrue. A faerie. A tremor shook through his body.
"From this moment on, you are cursed to wander the streets as a creature as frightful as the number of lives you've taken."
White lit her eyes like the rays of the moon, and her hair and clothes billowed as a violent current swirled through the air. He felt a sharp cold slice through his left cheek, followed by an overwhelming pain shoot through his body. An agonized cry tore out his throat as his bones swelled and elongated, snapping into place. His skin stretched and rippled, roughening into a leather-like texture that only the sharpest blade could penetrate. It turned a greyish tint, with lumps swelling beneath its surface lining along the length of his extremities like the spine of a dragon. He had grown in height, from that of slight stature to being taller than an average Japanese man, but not quite tall enough to be a giant. His hands became like claws and his feet were almost as large as a troll's, tearing the thong of the sandal and splintering the wooden platform of the sandals. The violent hue of his eyes turned hot amber, glowing like fire. His comely, effeminate face hardened, the space between his brows deepened with a sharp line that rendered him a permanently sinister look. His ears sharpened to points that were barely covered by a curtain of hair, the only thing about his corporeal being that had remained the same.
Humans and animal alike felt a chill down their spine when they heard the unearthly howl of a creature that could not be categorized as anything other than a beast.
Through a screen of red blood and hair, the Battousai saw the faerie fade away, leaving the scent of hakubaiku behind her and the words:
"Only when you've learned true love and be loved back will you break the spell. Until then, you are cursed to live as what you currently are: A Beast."
It took all the willpower Kenshin could muster to not immediately spit out the brackish liquid in his mouth. It took even more willpower to swallow it down, and absolutely none from choking on it while tears welled up his eyes.
Kaoru, on the other hand, spat her horrific concoction back into her bowl, and gagged. She took a sip of her tea, as did Kenshin, and made a face at that too. The tea was bitter and only served to scald his already irritated tongue and throat.
"Darn it. I thought I had it right this time."
"Oro? This time? Is this something you normally do?"
"I just want to be able to cook like everyone else!"
"Not everyone knows how to cook."
"But every woman does." She averted her eyes, chagrined by her statement.
Kenshin smiled, unable to keep himself from doing so. She was very, well, cute. "Your talent lies elsewhere. It's not every day one meets a swordswoman, and a pretty good one at that."
Kaoru looked surprised, and then smiled, her smile notwithstanding the tint of lament in her tone. "Most people think it's inappropriate for a young lady to practice swordsmanship, and even less so instructing it. Not that I have anyone to instruct anymore."
She was so wrapped up in her frustration by her lack of pupils that she absently popped a morsel that had been swimming in the lethal soup into her mouth. Her face melted into a look of torture as she forcibly chewed what was in her mouth.
Picking up the bowl of rice and a set of chopsticks, Kenshin figured there was no way someone could screw that up.
Crunch
Apparently he was wrong. Parts of the rice hadn't been thoroughly cooked properly, and other parts had been overcooked to the point it was mush.
Kaoru frowned, chopstick midway to her mouth. "I screwed that up too, huh?"
"I'm afraid so."
Kaoru sighed. "I should've taken you up on your offer."
Earlier, Kenshin had offered to assist her with any of the preparation or actual cooking, but she had shooed him off and ordered him to sit while she took care of everything.
"After all, you're the guest," she had said, "and it'd be rude of me to have a guest do any of the work."
Now he really wished he had helped her. He also wished she had only cooked the rice as she had originally promised. Apparently, throwing in a bunch of incompatible ingredients together was enough to make soup.
"I'm sorry," said Kaoru, "You were probably expecting a nice meal, or at the very least, an edible one, and instead you get fed rat poison."
"No worries, Kaoru-dono. I do appreciate the effort. And I will continue to eat this rice. Some of it isn't that bad." Not to the extent the other stuff was, anyway.
Kaoru took a mouthful of the rice. "You know, it actually isn't."
Kenshin wondered how the rice turned out the other times. He also wondered how it was that such a young girl (and beautiful, he noted again) lived all by herself without being completely affected by it. She was a strong and brave if a little rash, but she was still very young. Only 17 years old and she was already orphaned and without any living relatives, running the dojo all by herself.
Upon arriving, Kaoru had explained that after her father's unexpected and violent death, she had inherited the dojo as well as her father's students. Some of them bailed on her, while the faithful remained. It wasn't until Gohei, the muscle-inflated cretin from earlier, showed up and threatened all of her students to discontinue their enrollment at her school out of jealousy for the all-male pupils, and out of spite for being rejected by her. Now, she was barely getting by on her savings, and had to rely on the meager income she received from teaching on occasion at affiliated dojos.
The Kamiya dojo was modest but well-kept and clean. Too big a space for a lone individual. Kenshin wondered why she hadn't married yet, and then remembered Gohei. Her character was also something Kenshin was sure accounted for her being single. Not that it mattered that she was single.
"Do you have any family of your own?" Kaoru asked him, snapping him out of his reverie.
"No. Well, I have a master, who is like a father to me, but we haven't spoken in years."
"I imagine there's a story behind that that you probably don't wanna talk about."
Kenshin's brows went up. "How did you know?"
"You seem pretty private about some stuff."
"Does that make you suspicious?"
She absently stirred the contents of her soup with the chop sticks. "Not quite. More curious."
"Why the change of heart about me?"
Her mouth pulled into a devious grin. "Well, you stood up to Gohei, and despite my interference, did knock the wind out of him."
"While you gave him a concussion."
"Well, yes, but he deserved it."
She seemed to eat most eagerly whenever she was frustrated by something, because at that moment she took another bite of the rice, this time completely disregarding the rice's unfavorable texture.
"You say he's been harassing you since the death of your father?"
Not looking at him, she replied, "Yes."
"Has he ever tried to… force himself on you?"
Crimson red spread on her face. Bits of rice went flying out of her mouth as she yelled, "Wha-what kind of question is that? That's pretty personal, you know,."
Kenshin held up his hands. "My apologies. You're right that's out of line, but I want to be reassured that he hasn't. Please tell me he hasn't."
Kaoru settled back into her seat, the red lightening into a rosy flush on her cheeks. She was still frowning, but her vexation was not directed at him. "No, he hasn't. He's gotten too close for comfort, sure, has even put his vile arms around me, but has never actually tried that. And if he ever did, let me tell you, I'm not sure if my philosophy of "The Sword That Give Life" would withstand. I may kill the bastard, or nearly kill him at least."
Kaoru shoved another portion of rice into her mouth, pouting as she chewed.
Kenshin kept himself from chuckling. Her words had been threatening, but the way she said them was more like an impulsive young teenager than a murderous maiden. Although, he knew that it was no laughing matter. Gohei was not so much the threat as the consequences of defeating him was. He was probably not alone. Even if he was, there were others, he was sure.
"Why do you suppose he hasn't tried? Not that it isn't a good thing he hasn't. It's great he hasn't." He felt his fist tightening. The sky was darkening. He didn't have to look outside to know that dusk was nigh. He could feel it in his bones.
"I think he's waiting for something. I'm not sure what."
Imperceptible to mostly anyone else, Kenshin noticed the quiver in her hand as she took hold of the tea cup. They were swordsman's hands. Not smooth and delicate like regular ladies' hands. He longed to take one in his hands and tell her it'd be alright.
Instead, he said, "I can help you."
Kaoru looked over the rim of the cup and said, her voice muffled by the item. "What?"
"Get rid of him. I can make him go away."
Drops of tea spilled out of the cup as she all but slammed it down onto the table. "You mean kill him? No, I can't let you do that no matter how vile a scumbag he is."
"That's not what I mean. Ten years ago, I vowed never to take another human life again, and I've kept that vow since and plan to keep it that way for as long as I can."
Her eyebrows scrunched with incredulity, "But you carry a sword…"
The sound of metal scraping metal rang.
Kaoru jolted, getting to her feet. She took a few steps back, staring at Kenshin with disbelief.
"Relax. It's a reverse blade sword, see."
He held it out to her, holding the blade of the sword with one hand and the hilt of the sword pointed at her direction.
She took hold of it and examined the blade. A finger ran through the blunt edge of the sword. "So it is. I've never seen a sword like this."
"That's because it's the only one of its kind that exists."
Kaoru gave it back to him. "It's pretty old-looking."
"It's been around longer than you have." He re-sheathed the Sakabatou, reading her face.
"Well, how do you plan on helping me with that thing? Thwacking him in the head again? That would be nice, but it'd only further piss him off."
"You're right about that. What I plan to do is something much more effective. We'll give him an ultimatum. Either he promises to leave, or I'll disable his wrists so badly he'll never be able to hold a sword again."
Kaoru's jaw flew open.
Before she could reply, Kenshin stood up. "I must go. It's getting late."
Kaoru rose to her feet as well, surprised by the sudden decision to depart. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. Thank you very much for your hospitality," he bowed to her, "I'll come by tomorrow."
He was exiting the door when he heard, "I have an extra room… If you'd like to stay."
He turned around. This time his jaw flew open.
"You'd be sleeping in a separate bedroom. It was my father's. It'll save you money from renting a room."
"Goodnight, Kaoru-dono."
Kenshin ran. Ran as fast as he could. For some reason, the idea of sleep over a girl's house he had just met frightened him more than any spell or curse could. She was just so trusting. Not all that trusting, but trusting enough to invite him, a monster, to sleep over.
She doesn't know… You made her trust you…
Because she could trust him, but only when he was human.
The sky was stained with the color of autumn leaves. Very few people were out, the same vapid expression on their faces.
His nerves were prickling with the awareness of the encroaching night. He shouldn't have stayed so long. He'd make it just in time to a remote part of the woods if he kept the pace he was at.
He nearly reached the outside of town when he saw two figures standing on either side of the passage. The individuals couldn't be any more different from one another. One was herculean and had long brown wavy hair, his muscled body marked with scars in various parts of his skin. He held a ball and chain in one hand, the ball resting on the ground. The other was a diminutive man with a receding hairline and dark hair that billowed out similarly like a pineapple top. His age was interminable, he could've been anywhere in his late 20s to his early 40s, for all Kenshin knew.
He grounded his teeth, cursing under his breath. He slowed down but did not intend to stay put.
"Nobody is permitted to leave the premises unless authorized to," said the smaller one with beady eyes.
"It'd be in your best interest if you just let me leave," said Kenshin darkly.
"Hey, how dare you talk to us that way. I oughtta teach you a lesson," said the large man, cracking his knuckles in preparation. Kenshin crouched into a defensive stance.
"Wait, Shikijo," said his partner, holding out an arm to halt the other man's advancement. The small man studied Kenshin, his eyes narrowing. "A cross-shaped scar and red hair. Could you be him?"
"Night is approaching," said Kenshin, "I'm in a hurry to leave."
His mouth widened into a dark yet nervous smile. "Ah, I'm sure you are."
Kenshin perceived it before the dart could hit him. An ordinary man would have been writhing in pain from the poison in the dart by now, but Kenshin stood composed and unscathed. He didn't stand still for long, because a large lead ball was being aimed at him. He jumped up as the ball came crashing down, chunks of dirty flying from the ground. The large man pulled at the chain connecting the ball, intending to swing back at Kenshin again. The ball had barely left the ground when Kenshin called out, "Doruysen," and brought the blunt side of his sword down on Shikijo's head, hard. Shikijo crashed down, howling in pain as he cradled his head. Several darts flew past him as Kenshin lunged himself at Beshimi, and rewarded him with a swing to shoulder, producing an unpleasant cracking noise and a cry from the receiving person.
Leaving the two disreputable men behind to writhe in agony, Kenshin resumed to running as fast as he possibly could.
The last vestiges of day were rapidly sinking into the mountain tops miles away, the sky cloudless and dusky blue, a strip of orange at the bottom. Kenshin ran into the woods. Birds, normally quiet in the evenings, cried out in terror, their wings manically fluttering. Rodents hid in crevices and even the insects skittered away in panic. Kenshin ran as deep into the forest as he could. The further away he was from civilization the better it was for everyone.
Every nightfall, the Battousai turned into the creature Tomoe had turned him to over ten years ago. Tonight and like many other nights, his unsightliness was shrouded by the shadows provided by the trees. He had learned to contain the pain of the transformation into suppressed grunts, but the pain had not lessened over the years. The woodland creatures fretted in alarm as he went on a hunt for food to subdue both his hunger and agitation. It was not just his physical form that had changed that night, but also his temperament, like that of a wild beast. He had learned to control that as well, becoming less volatile whenever he was in his beastly form. Conversely, as a beast he had killed fewer men than he had as a human.
Sniffing the air, he caught the scent of elk not a long ways away, and sprinted towards that direction of his prey. The elk ran as they sensed the presence of the beast drawing close, hoping to escape. One elk was not fortunate enough to avoid being caught by the Battousai, its eyes widening in resignation as he the beast pounced on it, killing instantly. Animal or human, it was still a life, and Battousai preferred his kills to be spared from suffering.
The Battousai feasted well that night, his sharp feline-like teeth tearing through the raw meat as blood trickled down his chin and chest.
Although I do love the original faerie tale, the whole captive princess Stockholm syndrome thing is a bit too anti-feminist for me to want to adapt it. My take on the classic faerie tale is going to be closer to original manga but with magical elements and different storyline.
