Title: Scare
Rated: G
Genre: Romance/Humor
Pairings: Ken/Kao
Summary: Kaoru decides to take the task upon herself to go to the market. And meanwhile, a peculiar figure decides to hunt her through town. One-shot.
Disclaimer: As a fanfic writer, it rips my heart to shreds to say that I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. Now, if you'll excuse me, my sulking corner awaits.
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Six pairs of probing eyes blinked into the empty interior of the tofu bucket. Two men and a child let out low sighs of unison as they drew back from the unfilled bucket, identical frowns showing on each of their faces. One of the men in particular, a red haired rurouni, murmured quietly, "Oro. Sessha was very much looking forward to making tofu for lunch, de gozaru."
"And I was looking forward to a free meal," muttered the other man, a brown spike-haired ex-gangster.
The child plopped his pinky into his earlobe, twisting the fingertip boredly inside his ear. "Great. Now we'll have to suffer the wrath of what busu puts together and calls 'lunch'."
Kenshin sweatdropped at this. "Maa, maa, Yahiko-chan... Kaoru-dono is an excellent cook. If anything, she has gotten a lot better over the last few weeks, ne?"
"If ya call food poisoning better, then I guess Jou-chan's improved from making us plan our funerals early."
The redhead couldn't argue with that. True, Kaoru's cooking had been bad enough to almost succeed in killing them a few dozen times, but at least she was making some sort of progress. Kenshin could not help but feel sorry for the poor woman. She never had a motherly figure to look up to growing up alongside her father practicing the art of swordsmanship. She couldn't be to blame for that.
Sessha had a Okaa-san when he was quite young as well, but even then, he had picked up a thing or two of cooking skills from her, de gozaru yo. Kaoru-dono never got to know her Okaa-san like I had... It was the sad heart-wrenching reality, unchangable no matter the lengths of any mere being taken to defy fate.
Kenshin had become so enveloped in thought that he had almost forgotten their present situation of the tofu that would be required to make lunch. Kaoru's angry exclaimations and object throwing surprised the rurouni out of his trance. He gaped with buggy eyes at the washbin that hurtled straight toward his general direction. Rather than dodge the soaring object, he watched it, dumbfounded. It cracked him square in the face.
"Orooooo!" He fell backwards from his place on the engawa and found a new position in the dirt.
"Well I'm so sorry that my cooking sucks! If you don't like it, why not just mooch off someone else?" Kaoru was ready to send the bucket clutched in her hand flying at the nearest individual who dared to mock her skills in the kitchen again. She regained her composure after a moments silence with no inputs being voiced.
Calmly, the young kendo instructer stepped off the porch, stroding passed an "Oro"ing Kenshin and two stunned boys to the dojo's entrance. "I'll go to the market for more tofu if it'll make you ungrateful free-loaders happy!" shouted Kaoru indignantly over her shoulder.
The redhead picked himself off the ground at the woman's words, eyebrows raised and violet eyes going wide. He raced to the gate in attempts to block her way through. "Kaoru-dono," he tried to say in the hopes that she would listen. "You do not have to go to the market, de gozaru yo. Sessha will take care of buying the tofu—"
"Kenshin, I'll be fine. Just leave me alone." Kaoru sidestepped the rurouni, but he stood in her way yet again.
"Kaoru-dono..."
"I want to do this by myself, Kenshin! Why can't you ever let me do anything on my own!"
Now it was Kaoru's turn for her eyebrows to shoot up and her sapphire irises to enlarge. She cupped a hand over her mouth, cheeks tinting a light shade of pink. Kenshin's kind expression deteriorated to nothing more than a hurt frown. His usual way of hiding the hurt he felt suddenly crumbled down like a wall of stone. He had not a clue why her words had such a negative effect upon his being. It was all too confusing for him to think over.
"Gomenasai, Kenshin. I...I didn't mean to..." Kaoru trailed off, at a loss for words.
Kenshin turned sideways to allow for the raven haired woman to pass, showing no sign of protesting to her wish. "Iie. Sessha should be the one apologizing, Kaoru-dono, de gozaru yo." He bowed his auburn head a bit and smiled some. "Be careful on your way there and back. I'll be sure to be a step behind in case you hit trouble along the way."
Without saying another word, Kaoru dipped her head and took her leave, glancing back at the redhead who had vanished from his spot by the door.
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Kaoru's walk to the market would not have taken longer than anticipated had her head not been filled to the brim by so many questions that would not depart from her troubled mind.
She wondered, What did Kenshin mean back at the dojo?
The recollection of the rurouni's words had not been a challenge to do. "I'll be sure to be a step behind in case you hit trouble along the way..." Just what had he meant by that?
So many issues but so little answers ever revealed. Kenshin was -in no doubt- a mystery himself. Kaoru could never understand his way of thinking, let alone his state of mind, but it never helped that she strived for an understanding day-by-day. Most would have quit by this time around, but the proud Kamiya Kasshin swordsmaster was not one to give up so soon.
Maybe I'll figure it all out someday, she thought. Maybe...
The sound of many different voices caught her attention as she realized she had entered the market district. Forcing a happy smile, Kaoru made her way into the cluster of the crowd, avoiding anyone who seemed to be in a hurry to go. Nonetheless, in an effort to stay out of everyone's way, she had failed to miss someone who had bumped into her straight from behind. She lost her balance, yelping as she plummeted downward.
A slender arm curved around her waist and ceased her from falling. Kaoru gawked forward in a daze. Steady hands set her back on her feet, drifting out of her touch. "Wait!" she exclaimed, whirling about. "Who are—" Not a soul in sight stood behind her.
Kaoru blinked. Who had caught her from behind? It was all so sudden but had only taken a milli-second to happen. She shuddered unnoticably as she set off, quickening her pace. Whoever it had been, they had her full appreciation for saving her from the drop. Without reason, she found herself smiling.
A dark figure blended with the mass of passerby's close to where the young woman had taken her fall. Their eyes closed slowly. They were gone in a flash during the time a group of people had passed them by.
No one had noticed the strange form dwelling amid the sea of faces. And no indication of a soul stepping foot in that particular spot could be found.
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"Hai, I would like to purchase some tofu please," Kaoru answered back to the old woman who ran the store.
The aging lady nodded. "Right away, darling," she chirped. "I will be right back with the tofu."
Meanwhile, Kaoru fought back her unruly hair that lashed roughly in the spring winds as she waited for the elderly woman to return. She tapped her foot against the ground, distracting herself with the views of the many vendors and shops aligned on the street so as not to get too impatient. How does Kenshin manage to do this everyday?
When the woman came back with the tofu bucket and the desired white blocks swishing about inside, Kaoru could not have been happier to see anyone in her life. "Arigatou!" She thanked her kindly.
The graying female dipped her head, replying, "It was a pleasure, dear. Ki wo tsukete."
Kaoru nodded. "Ki wo tsu...ke...te..." Movement from the side caught her eye as she sensed a hard weight press down on her right shoulder. Restraining from attacking, the young woman twisted her head around to get a better view of her foe... and was met by flecks of dancing amber. "Nani? AHH!"
She reacted the fastest way she knew: striking out with the tofu bucket.
Suddenly, Kaoru payed attention to the voice that wailed in pain. It was not what she usually did at all. If anything, what she should have done was run back to the dojo to find Kenshin. But what use would there be in searching for the red haired rurouni if he was right there in front of her?
"Oro!"
"Kenshin!"
Kaoru managed to catch the injured man in her arms, forgetting about the bucket of tofu that crashed to the floor. At the moment, she was more concerned about having her questions answered and apologizing after. "What were you doing sneaking up on me like that?" She asked. "What are you even doing here? You should be at the dojo!"
Kenshin laughed awkwardly, rubbing his bruised cheek and wincing as he did so. He explained, "Sessha wanted to be sure you were okay, de gozaru yo. He decided that he would follow you into town just to be sure you would be safe. It seemed as though you were fine on your own... besides when you almost fell... and I was prepared to reveal myself to you so we could walk back together."
Kaoru payed close attention to his account until he was done. When he finished, she found herself hugging him in a warm embrace. "Gomenasai, Kenshin," she whispered. "I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me at the dojo. I shouldn't have yelled at you for just wanting to protect me. I should have let you come."
He patted her sympathetically on the back, ignoring his burning face and their ungainly positioned bodies on the ground. He smiled and said, "Sessha forgives you, Kaoru-dono. There is no need to apologize. I just wanted to be certain you were protected, de gozaru yo."
He peered into her face and she repeated the action with an added kiss to his scarred cheek. Kenshin went beet red but continued to smile down upon her beautiful features. It was a wonderful feeling to have Kaoru sitting there in his arms, overtop of him as if they were having an intimate moment. Maybe they were, in fact.
The kenjutsu beauty broke the blissful silence. "Let's go home, Kenshin."
Kenshin agreed with an affirmative, "Hai."
Just then, he remembered the spilled tofu and gazed in the direction of the sprawled bucket mournfully. He knew Kaoru had gone out of her way to pay for it, and because of the scare he gave her, he had caused them their dinner. Kaoru followed his stare, puzzled at first, but reminded of the task she had gone to the market for and gasped. "Oh no... The tofu..."
"Kaoru-dono-" He was willing to reassure the young woman that everything would turn out fine, that they would go to the Akabeko for dinner that night as an alternative. However, a ragged voice intervened, signaling for both Kenshin and Kaoru to look up.
"It seems as though you've forgotten your tofu, young lady!" It was the old woman. She held out a bucket filled with tofu, waiting for Kaoru to claim her purchase. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled to the lady, shock in her sapphire pools.
"But Miss, this isn't ours. I couldn't possibly—"
"Iie, iie. It's quite alright, dear child. Take the tofu and be on your way. Let the lost tofu be for me to worry about."
Reluctantly, Kaoru accepted the elderly woman's generous offer and took the bucket off her hands. "A-arigatou."
The lady grinned. "It is not a problem at all. Now, run along you two. I have customers to tend to."
Only then did Kaoru and Kenshin notice the line of irritated people waiting to be taken care of. Their faces both turned multiple shades of red. "Gomenasai!" They moved out of the peoples way and scurried straight for home as the old woman watched them go with a knowing look in her brown eyes.
"They are a very cute couple," she muttered to herself. "May they be blessed with a very good life ahead of them."
Owari
Author's Note: ... my only regret is not ending this in a better way T.T Otherwise, this is a lot longer than I usually write for a fanfiction so... great for that! :D
Hehe ^^;; Well, the good news is that I am writing two stories that are more than just simple One-shots, so hopefully I'll be able to post those up soon. The bad news is that in a month or so, I'll be starting school again so I may not have as much time as I usually do during summer to come and update. Nevertheless, I promise to finish any of the stories I write no matter what! :D
I hope you liked it! Feedback is always appreciated! Arigatou! ^-^x
Yours Truly,
~Wingless Hymn