Muses want to play with my head during an early Monday morning.

Disclaimer: RK not mine… I'm still wishing they were, though.

Summary: Curiosity finds its mate.

Cats

By Meet.A.L.E.X.

Kaoru looked on at the wonderful scene before her. She should be scared. She should scream. She should be running back inside… to her cold prison.

But it won't let her.

He looked on at the amber liquid that still remained in his glass. He wouldn't drink it. He didn't need to, not yet. It was just a tool, a prop.

Something about this town grabbed the curiosity of his inner beast and he had to investigate to sate it. He entered the dirty pub for there was nowhere else to stay while in the town and stood by the bar.

He made sure to make himself ragged and dirty like everyone else passing through. He didn't need to stand out. His cowboy hat kept most of his red hair tucked in. His jacket torn at some places suggesting fights. His boots muddy. He controlled his own ki.

His eyes remained hidden by his long, red bangs while he listened to everyone in the room. He felt their ki, tasting the different emotions, good and bad, they exuded.

It was mostly bad.

His beast was yearning to punish most of the men and some of the women around the pub. One look at them and you already could tell that they've done a lot of things punishable by law, but their ki suggested much more terrible crimes and he wanted nothing more than to swipe them out of this town.

This town was filled with fear, frustration, and desperation. Hope was long forgotten since the arrival of the men who corrupted this town and stayed here for no one was strong enough to keep them out.

Kenshin deduced that this was why he was here. He needed to free the few good people that survived under this gloom. He needed to help them find hope again. He needed to remove the bad and erase their existence completely.

And he would enjoy doing it… definitely.

He had been traveling for quite a while now. Years. Decades. Ever since his beast craved to go beyond the jungle he lived in for several centuries, he could only follow its bidding.

Traveling was good. It was liberating. It made him realize there were other beautiful places apart from his own so-called heaven. It was breathtaking.

Sometimes… it was also irritating. Just like coming through this town.

The only thing about "irritations" that he accepted was the fact that he knew he could do something about it. And then they couldn't bother him any longer.

Once his plan of punishment and rescue solidified, he would leave and prepare for the strike.

He downed his glass, annoyed at the taste the liquid left in his tongue. He was counting money to leave on the counter when the sound of a plate breaking from the kitchen got his attention.

The bar owner cussed and stomped towards the kitchen door and slammed it open. And then he saw it.

He saw her.

His beast roared.

Kenshin trembled, seeking control. The coins in his hand became dust from when he gripped them. Kenshin gritted his teeth, surprised at the suddenness of the moment. His beast yearned to move, to go to her. His nails cut his palms and blood oozed out. Kenshin hissed at the pain but his eyes never left her.

The owner began shouting at the young woman cleaning up the mess on the floor, harsh words filling the air. People from the pub snickered, enjoying the young woman's suffering. Punishment of no food for the rest of the day was told and then the wife of the owner came to take over and pushed the owner back out to man the bar. The door of the kitchen closed and the last thing Kenshin noticed was how the young woman's blue eyes darkened and hardened. She would never let anything break her.

His beast growled in pleasure at her fire.

The owner walked out and was red with anger, cussing about incompetent slaves. He went to Kenshin's direction and saw that his drink was finished. He brusquely asked if he wanted a refill and Kenshin could only nod, not yet trusting to open his mouth lest he growl in anger and make himself stand out.

The bar owner gave him another glass of whiskey and noticed how his hard, amber eyes still stayed at the closed kitchen door. He regarded Kenshin and mistook his great anger for lust.

The bar owner smirked wickedly. The thought of earning money while punishing his stubborn slave was something his black heart was having enormous pleasure in.

"You can have her for a night for thirty gold pieces."

Kenshin closed his eyes lest he scared the owner by focusing his hatred-filled eyes to the boar in front of him.

When Kenshin remained silent, the owner continued. "That price is already reasonable for a virgin broad. I can arrange it all if you're interested."

Kenshin read between his words. The bar owner wanted him to violate her, to break her, to punish her.

He itched to maul the man before him.

Kenshin exhaled slowly through his nose. He was slightly relieved that the owner had never thought of violating her body in this way before he came along. And for that he can live for a few more hours.

Kenshin reached in his pocket to pay for his drinks and said a hard "No" to the bar owner regarding his offer and left.

The bar owner snorted and mumbled something about stingy people. However, he was comforted by the thought that he was sure there were others who would consider his new "offer" and was sadistically happy that more money will come to him in time.

Kenshin went outside the bar and walked straight to the end of town, leaving the impression to the suspicious men outside that he was just passing along and was now heading back to where he needed to be.

Once he was out of sight, he ran back towards the woods surrounding the left side of the cursed town. He changed.

Kenshin kneeled and winced at the pain the transformation entailed. His red hair becoming much lighter and a bit shorter. His tan skin becoming golden brown fur.

Once it was over. He briskly ran towards the back of the pub he went to and slid down the long grass, steadily awaiting a chance at seeing the young woman again… before night came and he delivered justice to those who deserved it.

The back door opened suddenly, the wife of the bar owner pushing the young woman causing her to fall down the old, muddy, wooden flooring. She then dodged the wooden pail that was thrown right at her. The wife glared and shouted about finishing up the laundry and then slammed the door and went back inside.

Kenshin tried to loosen up, his beast wished to rush to the young woman's side to protect her from the wooden pail thrown precisely at her head by the wife but stopped himself when he saw the young woman's sudden movement.

Kenshin steeled himself to stay where he was, showing himself prematurely to anyone in this form might not help his plans for the night.

Kenshin watched as the young lady stood up and noticed how she swayed to the left before she steadied herself by holding on the wall. He watched her as she closed her eyes and took deep, calming breaths while tilting her head to the sky. When she opened her eyes to the sky and smiled slightly, his beast smiled too.

Before Kenshin knew what was happening, he was already up on his four legs and walking silently towards her. Needing her to acknowledge him.

The young woman noticed his presence and gasped. When blue clashed with intense amber, she was stunned.

Kenshin's gut coiled unbearably when he saw her eyes focused on him. Happiness, fulfillment, dedication, longing, and intense desire burned through him in waves he never felt before. He found his mate.

For the longest time he believed that he was never fated to find a mate, to find someone like her to join him in his immortality. Now that he did find her, he needed her, wanted her, and no one will touch or harm her again when she was his. His beast growled at the fullness of emotions.

The young woman started when she heard the growl of the magnificent animal before her. Her instincts kicked in and she turned back from him and ran towards the back door.

'NO!'

The great beast roared his disapproval. Pain at losing sight of her eyes ate through him. She was his mate. He needed her regard, needed her by his side.

The great lion reared and pounced.

Kaoru looked at her muddied hands on the wooden floor and heard the change in the air as something was thrown right at her. She dodged it and looked at where it dropped. The wooden pail lay on the grass a few yards from her. Looking at it and ignoring the shouts of the woman behind her she wondered how come they just didn't kill her in her sleep when they obviously try to do so at least once every day.

It's now her 22nd day in prison.

Twenty-two days since the death of her parents and the loss of their wealth at the hands of the robbers who now resided in their town. She would have died with them had she not tried to attack the first man and was struck to the head by another robber rendering her unconscious. When she woke, she found herself in a little room with no door by the kitchen of the local pub, a chain linking her left foot to the main post of the kitchen.

Before she could try removing the chain, the wife of the bar owner came down from their room upstairs and smirked at her, and with seeming delight at her plight, declared that she was now their slave and she had the rest of the night to mourn her parents and accept her new living conditions.

The sound of the door slamming stopped her thoughts and she then proceeded to stand to get started with her chore. While standing she suddenly felt dizzy and reached out to hold against the wall for support. They hadn't given her any food last night and again this morning and before the wife could give her her lunch, the wife tripped and dropped the plate of soup on the floor. When the bar owner came in to see the mess she was cleaning, he instantly deduced that it was her fault and punished her. His wife couldn't care less.

Kaoru tilted her head up and breathed deeply. Feeling the cold air pass her tired body, she smiled.

'Just a few minutes of bliss is enough,' her mind chanted, eager to give her hope in this situation she was in. She hoped there was a way to change things. She really hoped so.

Although, hope was easily lost day after day.

A shift in the wind made her open her eyes and look before her. She was shocked. There in front of her was a great lion. It was so majestic.

It looked straight through her and for a moment she wondered if it was more than just an animal. It looked so perfect, like in a dream. It was beautiful and lethal, she knew that it could kill her with one swipe of that great claw.

Kaoru looked on at the wonderful scene before her. She should be scared. She should scream. She should be running back inside… to her cold prison.

But it won't let her.

The lion growled.

Kaoru was suddenly removed from the dream and then her instincts kicked in. She turned and ran for the door.

The roar of the beast almost made her stop in fright. She clutched the door handle and pulled but steel arms wrapped around her and stopped her movement. Lack of food, fatigue, and then the scare of fatality all swooped down on Kaoru and she couldn't fight it anymore. Before she lost consciousness, she heard a distinct male voice tell her, "Mine."

In two fast leaps, Kenshin made it to the wooden patio, transforming back into a human during the last leap and instantly holding to him the young woman that had captured him totally and completely.

He didn't even know her name yet, who she was… or what she would think of him.

He held her tighter. He didn't want to consider anything that could make her doubt him for her. He was hers as much as she was his now. Nothing will change that. And he wanted her to acknowledge that fact too.

"Mine."

The young woman fainted in his arms and he only had a few seconds to spare before the rushing footsteps of the bar owner and his terrified wife reached where they were. Kenshin stomped at the chain link the young woman had around her left foot, smashing it, and then turned around carrying her in a bridal hold and ran with godlike speed towards the woods.

I am completely unsure of how you will take this one. I am surprised I even delved into something like such. Anyways, I like lions. This was originally going to be a werewolf fanfic but I liked the idea of Kenshin as the Great Lion in human form that I went ahead and did this story. Wow. Muses can be annoying at 5:55 am, but I think I like how this one turned out.

Please tell me how this story was. Any kind of criticism would be appreciated. If you didn't like it, just say so, please don't be too harsh :)

Hope you liked this story, please let me know ;D