Disclaimer: I do not own RuroKen or any part of the genius Watsuki Nobuhiro creations.

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to get out! My Father passed away March 27th 2008, three days after my 22nd birthday of heart failure. I was busy moving my Mother, my Aunt and her boys closer together. And I also moved closer to my Mother to take care of her. So, as you can see, I was very busy and I had to get a connection reestablished in my new home. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter. I am sorry that Kenshin has not made an appearance in this chapter, but I realized that there was a lot to be explained before he made his debut.

Thank you all for being patient. -Kiyo

Chapter Four

Blood.

She was always surrounded by blood. It was everywhere. On her clothes, her hands, her face, in her eyes, and it even stained her soul. Scarlet consumed everything. It even conquered her, held her soul in a tight grip, and it was never going to let go. How could she let this happen?

Blood.

She was tired. But she couldn't stop. For every one she let get away, two innocents would die in the one's place. That was not acceptable. The innocents were more important. They must be protected. She protected them, even at the cost of her own soul. She could never stop. Never cease to protect. No.

Blood.

Was this really protecting innocents? By killing the guilty, was she protecting guiltless? And what about her? Wasn't she an innocent before all of this? Who had been supposed to protect her?

Flaming red hair, amethyst eyes, childlike smile…

Love, affection, passion…

Cross-shape scar, sword, amber hues…

Strength, determination, purpose…

She whimpered almost inaudibly as she clutched her head in her hands, her fingers buried in ebony bangs. Who was the redheaded man who plagued her like this? Why couldn't she remember more than just fleeting images of him and emotions that were hidden just beneath the surface? Was he the one who was supposed to protect her? Was he her husband…?

He turned away from her, walking across the courtyard and out the gates, never to be seen again…

Loneliness, tears, pain…

Kenshin…

"Kenshin…?" She whispered to herself, ceasing her rocking motions. She was wrapped around herself against the wall, her face buried in her raised knees, as she had been rocking herself. Kenshin… Kenshin… who are you? Who were we? Why aren't you here with me? Did you get hurt…? She gasped, her hands flying to her chest, over her heart, clutching at the front of her gi. Why did the mere thought of this Kenshin person being injured hurt her so much?

Before she could examine this further, the door to her cell opened. The light poured in the dank, dark room and she squinted against the burning sensation the light caused in her eyes. She could only see the silhouette of a man standing the doorway due to the bright light that surrounded him, but she knew all too well who he was.

"It is time again, hitokiri, prepare yourself," and then he shut the door, leaving her alone in the dark once again.

Kaoru flinched at the boom the heavy, black door made as it was closed. She slowly stood and brushed the specks of dirt from her white hakama, and straightened her gi. Her face was a mask of indifference as she took deep, calming breaths; preparing herself for what she was about to do.

She moved forward towards the direction of the door, and placed her hand there, feeling the cool wood beneath her palm. She closed her hand into a fist and rapped sharply on the door twice. She dropped her hand and stepped back, and listened to the noise on the other side of the door.

"Get back, you mangy mutt!" One of her 'masters' minions snarled. A thump and a short yelp followed, signaling the man kicking one of the dogs into submission. Kaoru mentally curled her lip at his abuse of the animal.

Heavy footsteps sounded, and they got louder and louder as the man moved closer to the door to her cell. The door was unlocked and yanked open, and the light hit her in the face, burning her eyes again. But she made no move to shield her eyes. The light revealed a stocky man, looking about in his mid-thirties, if those crows-feet at the corners of his eyes had anything to say about it. He had short brown hair, and it looked in need of a good washing. He had beady little black eyes, and a scowl that looked like it was stuck on his face permanently. He wore a simple pair of white hakama and gi, with a pair of ratty tabi. She felt disgust for the lack of care he took of himself.

"Move your ass, hitokiri!" The man barked at her, his hatred for her obvious.

She took a step forward out of her cell, onto the crimson carpet. After a moments hesitation she strode forward, heading down the hallway of red to the big, black door at the end; the only thing that wasn't red in the hallway. The dogs growled and snarled at her presence, slowly stalking her from behind.

Another yelp from the dogs showed that the man had kicked them again on his way past, and Kaoru stifled the urge to punch the man.

She couldn't blame the dogs for their temperament. 'You can only kick a dog so many times before it turns vicious…' She felt sympathy for the guard dogs; though she couldn't wait until one took a chunk out of the man's leg for his abuse.

Kaoru made it to the end of the hallway to the door and moved aside, her back against the scarlet-painted wall. The man curled his upper lip in a sneer to show his yellowed teeth, then opened the door, and stepped back for her to enter through it.

She did so without hesitation, and walked into the middle of the room. She kept her head down. She didn't have to look around to know where she was. It was the training room. It had sleek hardwood-floors much like (her) dojo's did, with plain- though reinforced- wood walls and ceiling. Dummies hung from thick leather straps from the ceiling, and an assortment of deadly looking weapons lined one wall. A chandelier was in the middle of the ceiling, the flames inside the candle holders brightening the room since there was no windows. The room was the text-book demonstration of a "wolf-in-sheep's clothing."

This place did not just only serve for training, as it appeared. It also was the place for bloodbaths. Kaoru's crystalline blue eyes dulled as she lost herself in what made this room so sinister and memories that were better left buried.

"Release me!" Kaoru demanded of the thug that held her whole body in a vise-grip. This was the one who killed the woman at the tournament. The all black-clothing and nasty-looking red eyes was proof enough for her.

The grip tightened on her throat tightened considerably, closing off any and all effort for air. Kaoru wheezed and gasped for air that just would not fill her lungs.

"Did you know it only takes five pounds on your throat to crush it? Be silent." An almost genderless voice whispered, threatened harshly in her ear. She immediately stopped struggling, and the hand around her throat stopped squeezing and just held her in place. Kaoru hacked and coughed as she choked on air.

She was being dragged from her cell, because 'the boss' wanted to speak to her. Call her an idiot, but she was relatively safe in the cell. There was no telling what these men were going to do to her. She'd rather take her chances with those blood-thirsty dogs!

Suddenly she was dropped in the middle of the floor of a… training room?

"Kaoru Kamiya. So nice to meet you," A masculine voice drawled from somewhere in front of her. She snapped her head up to look at the owner of the voice, when she was hit in the back of the head for the second time that day. Stars exploded in her head and she almost lost consciousness, but the voice in her hear kept her awake. "Don't look at the boss, bitch. And pay attention or I will kill you myself."

Kaoru dug her nails into the floor, trying to fight off a massive headache.

"You might want to listen to Shadow. Disrespect doesn't bode well with Shadow," 'the boss' said, smugness thick in his voice. "But, why you are here…" The man sighed melodramatically and clapped his hands. "Bring them here so this can proceed." A door opened and closed and he paused, taking a few steps forward so all she saw was nice, polished leather shoes. "Do you know why you are here, my sweet?" The man drawled, stifling a wicked laugh at her predicament.

Kaoru shook her head in a negative gesture.

"I didn't think so," A door opened and sounds of muffled cries filled her ears. Kaoru's eyes widened considerably, her brain going into over time trying to guess what was happening before it happened.

"You are to become the modern hitokiri. I've been watching you, Kamiya, and I've liked what I have seen. You fight with grace and purpose. And I am offering you a great opportunity." The man chuckled at his own words, then reached down and caught her chin in a painful grip and yanked her head up so fast she thought she had whip-lash. Her eyes immediately sought out the source of the sobs and she couldn't stop the horrified cry that escaped her lips at what she found. Two little girls were tied together at "Shadow's" feet, looking severely beaten already. Dread slowly filled her as she started piecing things together. She knew she had turned sheets of white, and her mouth had gone dry.

"Oooh," The man cooed, obviously taking pleasure in the whole thing. "I see you are a smart one. But let me explain, just in case."

Her eyes shot to the man's. They were black, almost soulless… the eyes of death…

She saw movement from Shadow and knew he was coming towards her to beat her for looking at the boss. She quickly looked away, and closed her eyes. He was an ugly thing. He was tall and lean, granted, but his eyes were evil and his face was scarred heavily. But scars didn't make a person ugly. It was the way they held their faces, and this man's smile and eyes just screamed malice and wickedness. He was balding, his short black hair thinning and he wore an expensive suit.

"Shadow. Stand down. I believe our chickey understands." The man drawled again, then gripped her chin tighter before releasing her. She slumped to the floor a bit, still weak from the hard blows to the back of her head.

"Listen and listen closely, woman, I do not repeat myself." The man's voice was harder now. A sneer, if you will. "You are going to be my new assassin. You will kill for me indiscriminately. Anytime. Anywhere. And anyone. Do you understand?" He didn't wait for a response and a very loud "NO!" was forming on her tongue. But the beginning of her protest died with his next words. "Or I will kill these children. But I will not kill them swiftly, mind you. They will be tortured before they die. I promise you that, my sweet." He made a quick kick to her ribs, flipping her over onto her back and knocking the air from her lungs. The children screamed through their gags and Kaoru shut her eyes tightly. "But if it makes you feel better, bitch, the men you will be killing are evil men. Much like myself." He roared with laughter, and Shadow joined him, both obviously finding his statement hysterical.

"Why…?" Came the question unbidden from her lips. And she shook her head almost to herself.

"Because you have skill. And no one would suspect you, Kamiya, you will be presumed dead after not being found for so many weeks." The man snapped his fingers and someone walked over to her. A hand in her hair jerked her open and forced her to look in the direction of the children. Confusion was clearly written on her face.

"Oh, and Kaoru…" Her eyes shot to 'the boss'. "If you refuse, or fail me… like purposefully getting caught by the police. This is what will happen to any and all family you have. Especially that lovely doctor in Aizu, and that boy-child at your dojo." Kaoru gasped and barely had time to wonder how he knew that before he unsheathed a sword from the wall. She held her breath as he walked back towards her, but stopped by the children. He raised the sword and the cries from the children got more frantic. Realization dawned and she barely had time to scream before both children were decapitated, their heads rolling across the hard-wood floors.

"No!" She shrieked, a hand clawing out towards them, tears immediately dripping down her cheeks.

The man frowned and discarded the bloody sword and strode forward again. "Train her hard. I don't want any shred of humanity left in that girl. It sickens me." This was directed to Shadow who pulled her up to her feet and started to drag her to her prison. And as she was chained to the wall, she quickly found out the meaning of hell; through whips and hard blows to her ribs and face by Shadow and a greasy looking man who had joined in later. By the time Shadow was through with her, she hung almost-lifelessly from the chains, blood dripping down to pool on the dirty floor below her.

They stood back and surveyed their work. The greasy-man had a twisted smile on his grubby face as he moved forward and caressed her breast. She whimpered and flinched backwards, trying to escape his grip. He grabbed her other breast and gripped her hard until she screamed.

The man cried out suddenly, and he jerked forward, slamming into her, then slid down her bruised body to the floor. Shadow kicked the man away from her and across the room. "There will be none of that. An internally injured hitokiri is a useless hitokiri," was the reasoning. Shadow grabbed the man and threw him out of the room. She was unlocked from the chains, and she dropped uselessly to the floor.

"I will be back tomorrow. Do yourself a favor and do what the boss says." Was he trying to help her? "I have better things to do than to beat you all day. I never found pleasure in human-torture; I'm just here for the aftermath of your assassinations." Ah, so that was it- her groggy mind concluded.

Her body practically melted into the floor. She couldn't move. Everything hurt. She just wanted to sleep. Sleep…

Shadow realized the girl was barely conscious, so talking to her would be useless. So, an exit was the most reasonable thing…

…day after day she was beaten, harsh voices whispered commands in her ears, and she survived on tasteless gruel. Then the beatings just… stopped. And her wounds were dressed, broken bones tended to when she was passed out. And she was given a more hearty food by Shadow to eat on. She had no concept of time, so she had no idea of how long it'd been since she'd been taken. But her wounds were healed and she was feeling better physically… but, she couldn't remember what happened before she was kidnapped. She didn't know when it happened… but just one day... nothing. She remembered nothing… They had finally broke her… or hit her in the head one too many times, as that greasy-man had said repeatedly…

…When she refused to fight. Refused to be apart of this yazuka. She wasn't going to kill anyone! She was beaten and was forced to watch a toddler mutilated and beheaded. It was all her fault. She wouldn't fight it anymore. She promised…

…Then her training started. Her audience? Usually about two children who were slaughtered if she lost the fight. Once, she had lost a fight so horribly because of her injures from the beating before, 'Boss' had dismembered them before he killed them. She still remembered their screams. Yes. She would fight harder. She would never loose…

…One day it became too much. She had snapped and attacked all her sparing partners with a vengeance, disarming them quickly. But she'd never forget her shame and the satisfaction on the 'Boss's' face when her blade removed her opponent's head from his shoulders because the grin he wore irritated her…

…The Boss gave her the picture of her first target and orders to seek and destroy. Two young children sobbed silently at his side, while Shadow held a blade to their throats, a threat to their lives…

…She swept her sword through the air, leveled at the side of the man's neck. Steel collided with flesh, and she watched as the man's head rolled across the floor as she screamed inside…

…Then she was ordered to kill more and more men. She had lost count of how many she killed. But she did sneak peeks at the calendars that were available to her: months had passed by since her second kill…

…and now.

Now, she waited obediently in the room of the deaths of six children and two lackeys. 'All my fault. I killed them.' She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself and steeling to wait patiently for her 'Boss'.

The door opened and Kaoru made sure to train her eyes to the floor; she heard the usual soft sobs of small children in the wake of heavy foot-falls.

"Hitokiri. I have a new target for you," he said needlessly. It was obvious why she was called, she thought bitterly. "But, this one might prove to be a challenge. He fought during the Revolution as a real hitokiri, so he has skill." She could hear the smile in his voice, though she wasn't sure what made him so happy.

"I need you to bring back his head. Bring back his head and the children live. If you do not bring back his head, I don't give a fuck if you kill him or not, the children die. I. Want. His. Head." The boss man hissed, malice dripping into his voice. She could swear she could hear the floor sizzling under all that venom.

"Yes, sir." She replied curtly. She waited for the picture of this… challenge.

The picture was shoved under her nose, and her eyes almost crossed it was so close. She blinked and focused her eyes on the picture, and she almost died on the spot.

It was a drawing this time, she guessed that he wasn't a government official and there were no pictures on him. But that's not what floored her so. It was the face of the man that surfaced in her lost memories. Her chest tightened at what she was being told to do. She had to kill this mysterious red-headed man from her past. She suddenly felt the urge to trace the X-shaped-scar on his cheek with her fingertips.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find him. He's the only Japanese man I've heard of with red hair." her boss said nastily.

"He's probably a worthless hafu." the greasy man snarled. Funny how she still didn't know anyone's name but Shadow. And she was sure that the warrior's real name wasn't "Shadow"…

"I want you to get to it. I expect this to be done within the month. You have 20 days to complete this. If you are late, even by minutes to midnight of the 21st day, I will kill the children. And for every day you are late, I will kill another. Am I understood, hitokiri?!" The boss barked like an military officer.

"Yes, sir." Kaoru replied and waited until she was dismissed.

She would not be late with the man's head. But, it didn't mean that she didn't have to learn something about him first. She wanted to know why he didn't protect her. If he was a war veteran, and still alive, he should have protected her. He had the skill and strength enough to do so. He should have found her by now. He didn't care. That's why she was left here. He would pay with his head for what he dammed her to. Quite literally. But, she would find out who and what she was before she separated his head from his shoulders.

"Now go." The boss dismissed her and walked back out the door he came from- Shadow following shortly behind him with the crying children.

Without sparing a look to the dirty man that was still in the room, she made her exit through the window in the next room, off to seek and destroy her betrayer… no matter how much a nagging part of her denied the very thought.

A/N: So.. There's the end of this chapter. Hope you liked it. Here's a list of the terms used in this chapter:

Terms (in order of use):

Gi: A top usually worn by swordsman.

Hitokiri: Name used for "Man-Slayers" during the Revolution.

Hakama: Traditional Japanese pants.

Tabi: Socks that are specially made to be worn with sandals.

Yazuka: The Japanese term for "gang" or "mob."

Hafu: A derogatory word to describe someone who is not purely Japanese, but half of another race; a racial slur.

My Thanks to all who reviewed:

Obsequious101: Thank you. And yes, I would too. But I wouldn't just leave it with "Fuck!" I'd be turning the air around me blue with my cursing! Kenshin will DEFINITELY be in the next chapter. A lot. Thanks again. Paramecio: You know what? You've been with me since this started and you give me great reviews. You get cookies! :Gives cookies: I like you. Keep reviewing, please. Since I'm a good author, I hath the power to deem you a good reviewer… so there! LOL! RedWingedAngel002: I am sorry to inform you that Kaoru, in fact, is not alright. At least in the head. But a little time with Kenshin will help her out, kies? Yes… she is screwed in the most impossible situation. That sucks. Thanks for your reviews! You get cookies too. sulou: As you've probably already guessed, these bad-guys are no different than the ones in the manga/anime. They all want to take over the government because they are too simple-minded to go after the World. No, they just wanted her for her skill in swordsmanship and a few other things that will be revealed later. :Evil laugh: o.o;; And of course Kenshin will help out. He can't help not to. LOL Thank you, I liked Yahiko's inner self too. And no, viscous dogs are scary. Toy Chihuahua's are CUTE! :Cuddles hers.: Kisa167: Thank you for your review. Here's your update, sorry it took so damn long. shadow-fox313: Thank you and here's your update.

And to all who added me to their Alert, Favorites or Author list:

Panny-Son-Briefs; shadow-fox313; and everyone else I've accidentally misplaced. Thanks to you too!

A/N continued: Thank you all again for staying with me for these past two months. It's really appreciated. I would really love for you all to review and all you new people reading this. Love you too. You can ask questions and I'll try to answer them without giving away too much. I hope I answered all the questions asked, and if not: I'm sorry. And if I forgot anyone, just tell me in your review and I will make a big show of 'remembering' you! LOL Thanks! E-mail or I.M me at anytime at Evil In Twilight (at) aol (dot) com. I have AIM too. Don't be shy! And all apologies. FanFiction Net is being a bastard and keeps chewing my chapter to death and spitting it back randomly on the bloody page. Sorry.
-Kiyo-chan