Striking a Balance
folder
Rurouni Kenshin › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
10,256
Reviews:
35
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Rurouni Kenshin › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
10,256
Reviews:
35
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 2
Disclaimer - I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
Striking a Balance
Chapter 2
Kaoru shifted her smaller bag on her good shoulder as she walked through the streets towards home. The late afternoon light cast long shadows on the streets, and a slight chill crept in the shadows as a harbinger of fall. Kaoru brought her outer haori a little closer around her with one hand, as she had rested her elbow in the long armhole of the garment. She hurried as best she could without jostling her injured shoulder. The injury had not hurt so much when it happened, but it was throbbing dully with every step she took.
Kaoru looked up at the sky and sighed. Kenshin was not going to be pleased. He had always expressed concern about the distance of this dojo from home, the neighborhoods she had to walk through, and the discipline of the students, especially Masuyama. Despite his worries, she adamantly refused to have him come with her. She had worked so hard to build credibility with Nakagawa and the students of his dojo, and didn’t want Kenshin’s presence to undermine that. She had to stand on her own two feet and represent Kamiya Kasshin Ryu; she couldn’t risk appearing weak.
‘I wonder if I can hide this from him. Nakagawa said to use it normally, I could pass it off as stiffness.’ Kaoru shifted her shoulder slightly and winced. ‘Maybe not. I have to have some way of convincing him that I’m fine to return without his help.’
Kaoru puzzled this dilemma in her mind. She understood her husband’s protective instincts. But she can’t always rely on him for protection. If Kaoru hated anything, it was being weak and dependent. Her brows furrowed deeper in thought as she thought of words of her father’s.
‘Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is a style that protects. True practitioners of this style must depend on their own strength, not that of others.’
These words, spoken to a class when Kaoru was twelve, burned into her soul. Even though she was a girl, she wanted to be strong like her father. Her mother’s death only cemented this independent spirit further. She was glad of her inner strength when her father left for the war, as she would not have survived by herself without it. She was determined to stay strong, and remind Kenshin that she could take care of herself.
Lost in thought, Kaoru stopped short of bumping into a man in the middle of the largely deserted street. Murmuring an apology, she moved to step around him, only to have him step in front of her. She looked up, startled.
“Excuse me,” she said politely, going to step around again.
The man leered down at her. “Not so fast . . . Kamiya.”
Surprised, Kaoru stepped back, bumping into a hard body behind her. Before she could turn around, a hand grabbed her good arm and twisted it behind her back. She felt an arm come around her neck, squeezing painfully, stopping her struggles before they started.
Kaoru’s mind began to race as the man in front of her leaned in to peer closely at her. He looked like one of the regular street punks in this area – mean, crude and smug. As she glanced to either side, she noticed two more men disgorge themselves from the alleys and approach her, smirking. That made four, including the one holding her.
“What do you want from me,” she gritted out, voice constricted by the arm at her neck. “And how do you know my name?”
“Oh, we hear plenty about the self-righteous bitch who teaches at the dojo.” He leaned closer, foul breath in her face. “Although the description didn’t mention your great tits.”
The thugs laughed at her outrage, and he grabbed her chest roughly with both hands. “So, how about some fun?”
Kaoru moved before she thought, kicking sharply at the inside of the man’s right knee with her foot, and he dropped with a cry of surprise. She managed to knee his nose as he came down, blood dripping on the ground. Before she could kick backwards at her captor, the man holding her tightened his grip on her twisted arm, causing her to grunt in pain.
One of the men on the side stepped forward and punched her in the gut, winding her further. Her right arm burned from the angle, and the pressure on her neck was making it hard to breathe.
‘Dammit,’ she thought, struggling to stay conscious. ‘I can’t beat all of them pinned like this.’
The ringleader stood with furious eyes, holding his hand up at the other two men who looked like they wanted to beat Kaoru further. Blood running from his nose, he grabbed her chin cruelly.
“I was going to play nice, but you had to fuck that up. I’m only going to say this once. You screwed up big time by messing with Masuyama. No one messes with him, especially not a low-class whore like you.”
Kaoru’s eyes flashed dangerously, and adrenaline surged through her despite the pain.
“It’s just like Masuyama to send a cheap replacement instead of facing me like a man.”
The man’s gripped her face harder, almost crushing her jaw.
“You would be wise not to come back to Nakagawa’s dojo, ever. You’ll get more than a hurt shoulder next time.” He placed a heavy hand on Kaoru’s injured left shoulder, causing her to bite her lip in pain. She wouldn’t give these bastards the satisfaction of crying out.
“I will do what I please,” Kaoru spat out a bit breathless, “Masuyama isn’t part of the dojo anymore.” The man laughed harshly.
“You underestimate him.”
“And you underestimate me.”
“Enough.” He stepped back. “Boys, let’s give her some reminders.”
The two on either side began to close in, dangerous smiles on their faces. Kaoru struggled painfully against the one who held her, and braced for their blows.
A voice rang out over the street.
“Kazue, don’t you and your punks have something better to do than harass defenseless women?”
The three men in front of her looked behind her and paled noticeably. The hands holding her suddenly let go, and Kaoru dropped to the ground, holding her arm gingerly.
“Fuck, let’s get out of here,” the one behind her yelled, and took off. The others followed, the ringleader giving her one final warning with his eyes.
Kaoru watched them disappear down the street until a pair of dark blue policeman’s trousers came into view. She slowly raised her eyes up past the sword, white gloves, gold buttons, and slightly open collar of the man in front of her. Her stomach sank when she met his eyes
‘Kuso, anyone but him.’
Before her was the last person she wanted to see, especially in this condition. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted past her nose. Kaoru sighed, then set her mouth into a firm line.
“Hello Saito.”
Striking a Balance
Chapter 2
Kaoru shifted her smaller bag on her good shoulder as she walked through the streets towards home. The late afternoon light cast long shadows on the streets, and a slight chill crept in the shadows as a harbinger of fall. Kaoru brought her outer haori a little closer around her with one hand, as she had rested her elbow in the long armhole of the garment. She hurried as best she could without jostling her injured shoulder. The injury had not hurt so much when it happened, but it was throbbing dully with every step she took.
Kaoru looked up at the sky and sighed. Kenshin was not going to be pleased. He had always expressed concern about the distance of this dojo from home, the neighborhoods she had to walk through, and the discipline of the students, especially Masuyama. Despite his worries, she adamantly refused to have him come with her. She had worked so hard to build credibility with Nakagawa and the students of his dojo, and didn’t want Kenshin’s presence to undermine that. She had to stand on her own two feet and represent Kamiya Kasshin Ryu; she couldn’t risk appearing weak.
‘I wonder if I can hide this from him. Nakagawa said to use it normally, I could pass it off as stiffness.’ Kaoru shifted her shoulder slightly and winced. ‘Maybe not. I have to have some way of convincing him that I’m fine to return without his help.’
Kaoru puzzled this dilemma in her mind. She understood her husband’s protective instincts. But she can’t always rely on him for protection. If Kaoru hated anything, it was being weak and dependent. Her brows furrowed deeper in thought as she thought of words of her father’s.
‘Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is a style that protects. True practitioners of this style must depend on their own strength, not that of others.’
These words, spoken to a class when Kaoru was twelve, burned into her soul. Even though she was a girl, she wanted to be strong like her father. Her mother’s death only cemented this independent spirit further. She was glad of her inner strength when her father left for the war, as she would not have survived by herself without it. She was determined to stay strong, and remind Kenshin that she could take care of herself.
Lost in thought, Kaoru stopped short of bumping into a man in the middle of the largely deserted street. Murmuring an apology, she moved to step around him, only to have him step in front of her. She looked up, startled.
“Excuse me,” she said politely, going to step around again.
The man leered down at her. “Not so fast . . . Kamiya.”
Surprised, Kaoru stepped back, bumping into a hard body behind her. Before she could turn around, a hand grabbed her good arm and twisted it behind her back. She felt an arm come around her neck, squeezing painfully, stopping her struggles before they started.
Kaoru’s mind began to race as the man in front of her leaned in to peer closely at her. He looked like one of the regular street punks in this area – mean, crude and smug. As she glanced to either side, she noticed two more men disgorge themselves from the alleys and approach her, smirking. That made four, including the one holding her.
“What do you want from me,” she gritted out, voice constricted by the arm at her neck. “And how do you know my name?”
“Oh, we hear plenty about the self-righteous bitch who teaches at the dojo.” He leaned closer, foul breath in her face. “Although the description didn’t mention your great tits.”
The thugs laughed at her outrage, and he grabbed her chest roughly with both hands. “So, how about some fun?”
Kaoru moved before she thought, kicking sharply at the inside of the man’s right knee with her foot, and he dropped with a cry of surprise. She managed to knee his nose as he came down, blood dripping on the ground. Before she could kick backwards at her captor, the man holding her tightened his grip on her twisted arm, causing her to grunt in pain.
One of the men on the side stepped forward and punched her in the gut, winding her further. Her right arm burned from the angle, and the pressure on her neck was making it hard to breathe.
‘Dammit,’ she thought, struggling to stay conscious. ‘I can’t beat all of them pinned like this.’
The ringleader stood with furious eyes, holding his hand up at the other two men who looked like they wanted to beat Kaoru further. Blood running from his nose, he grabbed her chin cruelly.
“I was going to play nice, but you had to fuck that up. I’m only going to say this once. You screwed up big time by messing with Masuyama. No one messes with him, especially not a low-class whore like you.”
Kaoru’s eyes flashed dangerously, and adrenaline surged through her despite the pain.
“It’s just like Masuyama to send a cheap replacement instead of facing me like a man.”
The man’s gripped her face harder, almost crushing her jaw.
“You would be wise not to come back to Nakagawa’s dojo, ever. You’ll get more than a hurt shoulder next time.” He placed a heavy hand on Kaoru’s injured left shoulder, causing her to bite her lip in pain. She wouldn’t give these bastards the satisfaction of crying out.
“I will do what I please,” Kaoru spat out a bit breathless, “Masuyama isn’t part of the dojo anymore.” The man laughed harshly.
“You underestimate him.”
“And you underestimate me.”
“Enough.” He stepped back. “Boys, let’s give her some reminders.”
The two on either side began to close in, dangerous smiles on their faces. Kaoru struggled painfully against the one who held her, and braced for their blows.
A voice rang out over the street.
“Kazue, don’t you and your punks have something better to do than harass defenseless women?”
The three men in front of her looked behind her and paled noticeably. The hands holding her suddenly let go, and Kaoru dropped to the ground, holding her arm gingerly.
“Fuck, let’s get out of here,” the one behind her yelled, and took off. The others followed, the ringleader giving her one final warning with his eyes.
Kaoru watched them disappear down the street until a pair of dark blue policeman’s trousers came into view. She slowly raised her eyes up past the sword, white gloves, gold buttons, and slightly open collar of the man in front of her. Her stomach sank when she met his eyes
‘Kuso, anyone but him.’
Before her was the last person she wanted to see, especially in this condition. The smell of cigarette smoke wafted past her nose. Kaoru sighed, then set her mouth into a firm line.
“Hello Saito.”