Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Rurouni Kenshin. It belongs to Watsuki
and Sony. WAAAAAAAAA! Why can't I own it. It's such a good series and it's
over. *Starts scaring self and everyone else around her. * On with the
story!!!
A New Day
The sun was low in the sky. The Kamiya dojo was submerged in a peaceful quiet. It was Saturday so mostly everyone was asleep. They were all worn out from the late night they had had at the Akabeko.
Kenshin was the only one who was awake. It had rained last night. Winter had almost arrived in Tokyo so it was raining a great deal lately. He never slept well when it rained. He had been so thankful when the sun had started to illuminate his room.
He was sitting on the porch outside his room. A list of the days chores going through his head. He had to finish the laundry after he made breakfast. He had to accompany Kaoru on her trip into the city (he was looking forward to this). The he had to come back and put the finishing touches on Yahiko's floor job. He didn't always do the best job of cleaning the floor when he was mad. It was Kenshin's assumptions were right, Yahiko would probably say something to make Kaoru mad and he'd be on his hands and knees while Kaoru went out on the town.
He could already tell it was going to be a long day. Last night had been a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Now he was being shoved head first into it again.
He turned around and sighed. He might as well get breakfast started. Everyone would be waking up soon. Sano was spending the night since he used the excuse "It's to late to go home", but it was obvious that he was just lonely. Kenshin got up and walked to the kitchen.
Kaoru stirred in her room. She was awakened by the sound of Kenshin walking by her room and sighing. He sounded so tired to her. She felt a bit guilty since she had been imposing upon him a great deal lately. They had just come back form Kyoto almost a week ago. There was so much to do that she had been depending on him greatly. This wasn't doing much to help him recover either.
Her mind wandered back to two night s ago when Kaoru had gone with Kenhin to see Megumi. She had waited for a half and hour in the waiting room. When they had come out Megumi pulled her aside.
"He's still not well enough to be putting the amount of strain on his body that he is right now. No offense, but imposing upon him all these chores as of this moment, is not in his best interest," Megumi had scolded.
"I'm sorry, I guess I haven't been thinking," Kaoru responded.
By the time she had woken up the next morning, she relized all that she had to do and almost completely forgot about what she had promised Megu,i.
She quickly got up and got dressed. Her eyes scanned the room. She was making a list of things that she would needed and wanted to get on her shopping trip later on.
Her eyes stopped at the trunk where she kept her kimonos. She remembered about her money she had been saving to buy a new kimono with. It was hidden in a secret place under the tatami mats. She finally had enough to buy herself some new clothes.
She went to the hiding spot. She took the money out of its place and stuck it in the sleeve of her kimono. She thought for a second then took the pouch out of her sleeve. She poured the money into her hand and counted it. She let out a sigh of relief. Her momentary lapse passed. She hadn't misplaced any of her yen.
She opened the shoji. The sun was a bright ball of fire. A breeze softly played with her hair. It rolled across the grass making her think of the rise and fall of the ocean. Little white flowers were blooming along the walls. She walked down the hall enjoying the beautiful transformation the dojo had undergone.
She reached the kitchen. Kenshin was inside cooking breakfast. What Megumi told her ran through her head. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Good morning Kaoru-dono." He said as he turned around. She looked worried and he stared at her concerned. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I was just wondering if I could make breakfast. Why don't you go outside and enjoy the morning." Kaoru said.
The memory of Kaoru almost burning down the kitchen two days ago when she attempted to cook dinner flashed in his head. "Uh. okay," he said as he gave her a strange look.
He walked outside. He had nothing to do so her decided to try and get a head start on the laundry.
Sano walked out of Yahiko's room. "Hey Kenshin, aren't you cooking breakfast today? Shouldn't you start soon?" Sano asked.
"Kaoru-dono is cooking breakfast. I started to make breakfast but she asked if she cold finish up," Kenshin responded.
You actually let Jou-chan go near the kitchen after her last incident?" Sano quizzed.
"She deserves another chance," Kenshin answered.
"This is like her 50th chance though. Oh well, if I die from food poisoning, I'll blame you," Sano said as he went back in Yahiko's room. A few seconds later a "What did you wake me up for?" was heard followed by Sano walking out of the room with Yahiko temporarily attached to his head. Kenshin laughed and rolled is eyes.
Kenshin went back to washing the laundry in the wooden wash tub. He was absent minded scrubbing a white sheet while he was thinking about how much was going to enjoy going downtown with Kaoru later. He didn't realize that his sleeve was caught between two panels of the wash tub. As he kept scrubbing it got stuck further. He finished cleaning the sheet and as a pulled it out of the tub, his sleeve ripped off. He looked down and realized he had forgot to tie his sleeves up. He sighed and pulled his sleeve out of the wooden tub.
He went to his room and put on the only other gi he owned. The one that had barely been salvaged from the fight with Shishio. He took it out of his bag. He had forgotten how bad of a condition it was in. Not that his other on was much better. He needed new clothes but unfortunately he didn't have any money to do so with.
He put the gi on. He couldn't exactly sew the sleeve back on the one he had been wearing while he was wearing it. He first had to finish the laundry. He made sure he tied his sleeves up this time before he went back outside.
Kaoru went outside to announce to everyone that breakfast was ready.
She quickly looked over at Kenshin doing laundry on the far side of the yard. She became frustrated. She had sent him outside so he wouldn't be putting strain on himself but here he was doing the laundry and putting even more strain on himself. They were also going to have a burnt breakfast now. She hadn't told him to take it easy so she couldn't get mad at him.
She called everyone inside for breakfast.
She went back inside followed by Sano, Yahiko, and Kenshin. As Kenshin walked in she caught sight of what he was wearing.
"What happened to what you were wearing before?" Kaoru asked.
"I accidentally tore the sleeve off," He responded.
"Why are you wearing that gi? Don't you have any others?" she asked.
Kenshin averted his eyes, "No, I don't have any money to get a new one," Kenshin replied.
Kaoru's hand instinctively went to the pouch in her sleeve where the money for her new kimono was. She felt guilty. Her she was getting a new silk kimono because she wanted one and she had the money to get one. Then there was Kenshin in dire need of new clothes but he didn't have any money to get some. Kaoru realized that her priorities had been a little out of order.
She could save some more money to get herself a kimono some other time. She would send Kenshin off with some money to get food and other things the dojo needed while she got him some new clothes. Then later on she would send Yahiko off to the Akabeko so that she could have dinner alone with Kenshin.
Breakfast miraculously went by without any snide remarks from the two the rivaled the three stooges. As Kenshin was going out to finish the laundry Kaoru caught his wrist.
"Ah, Kenshin, if you don't mind I would like to go into town right now. I was wanting to spend a few extra hours there, " she stated.
"Ok Kaoru-dono," he replied.
They left the dojo and arrived in downtown Tokyo about 15 minutes later. Kaoru sent Kenshin off to buy the essentials while she went off on he mission.
She walked up and down the market place. There were so many stalls selling clothes. She didn't know what color to get for Kenshin. She decided to get some in the same colors that he already had but she also wanted to get some in some different colors as well.
She came upon a stall that had a large variety. She found some in the colors he had now. She walked around to the other side. A very handsome midnight blue gi caught her attention. She knew it was perfect for Kenshin. She choose a gray hakama to go with it, She asked the stall keeper to wrap it up. She paid for it and went to meet Kenshin.
The rest of the afternoon the spent window shopping. The walked around to the different stalls. Kaoru tried on a western evening gown to see how she would look. She even talked Kenshin into trying on a tuxedo. They both came out at the same time. Kaoru was wearing a light blue dress that had a silvery white sheer that went over the top. Kaoru turned around to model her dress. Kenshin thought she looked like a princess from a western fairytale.
Many people walking by commented to them on the fact that they made a great couple. They both blushed furiously. Then out of nowhere Kenshin took Kaoru's hand and twirled her. She laughed with delight.
All to soon they had to get dressed back into their regular clothes and head back to the dojo, They had stayed out a but later then that had meant to, Kaoru couldn't remember the last time she had that this much fun. Now all she had to do was shoo Yahiko out of the house and help Kenshin make dinner. They had had lunch out on the town that afternoon since they didn't want to come home. By the time Yahiko was convinced to leave, Kenshin had already started to make dinner. Not wanting a repeat of today's breakfast, she let him cook dinner and let Kenshin give her a few pointers on how not to kill the food.
Once it was ready, they sat down at the table. Dinner turned out much better then breakfast. They talked about nothing in particular. Before Kaoru knew it, dinner was over. They cleaned the dishes then went outside.
Kaoru left Kenshin on the porch and went into her room to retrieve the package that had the clothes that she had gotten for Kenshin in it. She hid it behind her back and walked outside.
Kenshin was enjoying the night, It seemed as if the stars were attempting to hid the black sky from his view but theirs attempts were futile. He could have been finishing up the laundry but his body wasn't up for that much more. He heard Kaoru coming out of her room hiding something behind her back. Kaoru brought the wrapped package around front.
"Are those the new clothes that you got for yourself Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked.
"You're right about them being new clothes but, well, they're not for me," she answered.
"Who are they for?" Kenshin asked as he stared at her confused.
"They're for you," she replied as she handed to package to him.
He stared at it for a minute before he opened it. When he did her found the magenta and midnight blue gis that Kaoru had gotten him along with the gray and white hakamas.
"Ar.Arigato Kaoru-dono. You really didn't need to do this," Kenshin stated.
"Yes I did. Stop being so stubborn. The clothes that you have now can only be fixed o many times. What your wearing now is beyond repair. Yes, I needed to and wanted to. You deserve the best whether you think you do or not," Kaoru verbalized.
All Kenshin could do was stare at her. She really had grown into someone her could respect and even . well . love perhaps. He was so thankful that he had been blessed with her.
He stood up and helped Kaoru up. Then to her surprise he hugged her and whispered, "Thank you for everything."
Kaoru stiffened as she heard those words. She gently pulled back to look at Kenshin. He had said those words to her before he left. Except now, he wasn't leaving. Kaoru started to understand the hidden meaning behind those words. She finally realized that one day she wouldn't have to worry about him leaving her again anymore.
Kaoru gave Kenshin a small smile, "Good night Kenshin," she said as she started to retreat,
"Good night Kaoru-dono," Kenshin answered.
They turned and went separate ways to their respective rooms looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.
~Owari~
Author's Notes: That's the most I've ever written for a one shot. In fact, this is my first one shot. My other one shot ended up being 3 chapters long. Anyway, I hope you liked this story. It seemed to me to me to be something that needed to be written. I know that in the beginning the characters are a little out of character. The inspiration came to me when I was thinking about all the times in fanfics and in the anime Kaoru gets a new kimono. Kenshin deserves to get something new every once in a while to.
Some things are kind over random. I didn't even know when I first started writing the story that I was going to add to part about the Kyoto arc in it. It just seemed like the write thing to do. I hope it flows together alright since considering I stopped and started working on this fic about 12 times. Anyway, I gotta go. Please review!!! Bye!
A New Day
The sun was low in the sky. The Kamiya dojo was submerged in a peaceful quiet. It was Saturday so mostly everyone was asleep. They were all worn out from the late night they had had at the Akabeko.
Kenshin was the only one who was awake. It had rained last night. Winter had almost arrived in Tokyo so it was raining a great deal lately. He never slept well when it rained. He had been so thankful when the sun had started to illuminate his room.
He was sitting on the porch outside his room. A list of the days chores going through his head. He had to finish the laundry after he made breakfast. He had to accompany Kaoru on her trip into the city (he was looking forward to this). The he had to come back and put the finishing touches on Yahiko's floor job. He didn't always do the best job of cleaning the floor when he was mad. It was Kenshin's assumptions were right, Yahiko would probably say something to make Kaoru mad and he'd be on his hands and knees while Kaoru went out on the town.
He could already tell it was going to be a long day. Last night had been a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Now he was being shoved head first into it again.
He turned around and sighed. He might as well get breakfast started. Everyone would be waking up soon. Sano was spending the night since he used the excuse "It's to late to go home", but it was obvious that he was just lonely. Kenshin got up and walked to the kitchen.
Kaoru stirred in her room. She was awakened by the sound of Kenshin walking by her room and sighing. He sounded so tired to her. She felt a bit guilty since she had been imposing upon him a great deal lately. They had just come back form Kyoto almost a week ago. There was so much to do that she had been depending on him greatly. This wasn't doing much to help him recover either.
Her mind wandered back to two night s ago when Kaoru had gone with Kenhin to see Megumi. She had waited for a half and hour in the waiting room. When they had come out Megumi pulled her aside.
"He's still not well enough to be putting the amount of strain on his body that he is right now. No offense, but imposing upon him all these chores as of this moment, is not in his best interest," Megumi had scolded.
"I'm sorry, I guess I haven't been thinking," Kaoru responded.
By the time she had woken up the next morning, she relized all that she had to do and almost completely forgot about what she had promised Megu,i.
She quickly got up and got dressed. Her eyes scanned the room. She was making a list of things that she would needed and wanted to get on her shopping trip later on.
Her eyes stopped at the trunk where she kept her kimonos. She remembered about her money she had been saving to buy a new kimono with. It was hidden in a secret place under the tatami mats. She finally had enough to buy herself some new clothes.
She went to the hiding spot. She took the money out of its place and stuck it in the sleeve of her kimono. She thought for a second then took the pouch out of her sleeve. She poured the money into her hand and counted it. She let out a sigh of relief. Her momentary lapse passed. She hadn't misplaced any of her yen.
She opened the shoji. The sun was a bright ball of fire. A breeze softly played with her hair. It rolled across the grass making her think of the rise and fall of the ocean. Little white flowers were blooming along the walls. She walked down the hall enjoying the beautiful transformation the dojo had undergone.
She reached the kitchen. Kenshin was inside cooking breakfast. What Megumi told her ran through her head. She walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Good morning Kaoru-dono." He said as he turned around. She looked worried and he stared at her concerned. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I was just wondering if I could make breakfast. Why don't you go outside and enjoy the morning." Kaoru said.
The memory of Kaoru almost burning down the kitchen two days ago when she attempted to cook dinner flashed in his head. "Uh. okay," he said as he gave her a strange look.
He walked outside. He had nothing to do so her decided to try and get a head start on the laundry.
Sano walked out of Yahiko's room. "Hey Kenshin, aren't you cooking breakfast today? Shouldn't you start soon?" Sano asked.
"Kaoru-dono is cooking breakfast. I started to make breakfast but she asked if she cold finish up," Kenshin responded.
You actually let Jou-chan go near the kitchen after her last incident?" Sano quizzed.
"She deserves another chance," Kenshin answered.
"This is like her 50th chance though. Oh well, if I die from food poisoning, I'll blame you," Sano said as he went back in Yahiko's room. A few seconds later a "What did you wake me up for?" was heard followed by Sano walking out of the room with Yahiko temporarily attached to his head. Kenshin laughed and rolled is eyes.
Kenshin went back to washing the laundry in the wooden wash tub. He was absent minded scrubbing a white sheet while he was thinking about how much was going to enjoy going downtown with Kaoru later. He didn't realize that his sleeve was caught between two panels of the wash tub. As he kept scrubbing it got stuck further. He finished cleaning the sheet and as a pulled it out of the tub, his sleeve ripped off. He looked down and realized he had forgot to tie his sleeves up. He sighed and pulled his sleeve out of the wooden tub.
He went to his room and put on the only other gi he owned. The one that had barely been salvaged from the fight with Shishio. He took it out of his bag. He had forgotten how bad of a condition it was in. Not that his other on was much better. He needed new clothes but unfortunately he didn't have any money to do so with.
He put the gi on. He couldn't exactly sew the sleeve back on the one he had been wearing while he was wearing it. He first had to finish the laundry. He made sure he tied his sleeves up this time before he went back outside.
Kaoru went outside to announce to everyone that breakfast was ready.
She quickly looked over at Kenshin doing laundry on the far side of the yard. She became frustrated. She had sent him outside so he wouldn't be putting strain on himself but here he was doing the laundry and putting even more strain on himself. They were also going to have a burnt breakfast now. She hadn't told him to take it easy so she couldn't get mad at him.
She called everyone inside for breakfast.
She went back inside followed by Sano, Yahiko, and Kenshin. As Kenshin walked in she caught sight of what he was wearing.
"What happened to what you were wearing before?" Kaoru asked.
"I accidentally tore the sleeve off," He responded.
"Why are you wearing that gi? Don't you have any others?" she asked.
Kenshin averted his eyes, "No, I don't have any money to get a new one," Kenshin replied.
Kaoru's hand instinctively went to the pouch in her sleeve where the money for her new kimono was. She felt guilty. Her she was getting a new silk kimono because she wanted one and she had the money to get one. Then there was Kenshin in dire need of new clothes but he didn't have any money to get some. Kaoru realized that her priorities had been a little out of order.
She could save some more money to get herself a kimono some other time. She would send Kenshin off with some money to get food and other things the dojo needed while she got him some new clothes. Then later on she would send Yahiko off to the Akabeko so that she could have dinner alone with Kenshin.
Breakfast miraculously went by without any snide remarks from the two the rivaled the three stooges. As Kenshin was going out to finish the laundry Kaoru caught his wrist.
"Ah, Kenshin, if you don't mind I would like to go into town right now. I was wanting to spend a few extra hours there, " she stated.
"Ok Kaoru-dono," he replied.
They left the dojo and arrived in downtown Tokyo about 15 minutes later. Kaoru sent Kenshin off to buy the essentials while she went off on he mission.
She walked up and down the market place. There were so many stalls selling clothes. She didn't know what color to get for Kenshin. She decided to get some in the same colors that he already had but she also wanted to get some in some different colors as well.
She came upon a stall that had a large variety. She found some in the colors he had now. She walked around to the other side. A very handsome midnight blue gi caught her attention. She knew it was perfect for Kenshin. She choose a gray hakama to go with it, She asked the stall keeper to wrap it up. She paid for it and went to meet Kenshin.
The rest of the afternoon the spent window shopping. The walked around to the different stalls. Kaoru tried on a western evening gown to see how she would look. She even talked Kenshin into trying on a tuxedo. They both came out at the same time. Kaoru was wearing a light blue dress that had a silvery white sheer that went over the top. Kaoru turned around to model her dress. Kenshin thought she looked like a princess from a western fairytale.
Many people walking by commented to them on the fact that they made a great couple. They both blushed furiously. Then out of nowhere Kenshin took Kaoru's hand and twirled her. She laughed with delight.
All to soon they had to get dressed back into their regular clothes and head back to the dojo, They had stayed out a but later then that had meant to, Kaoru couldn't remember the last time she had that this much fun. Now all she had to do was shoo Yahiko out of the house and help Kenshin make dinner. They had had lunch out on the town that afternoon since they didn't want to come home. By the time Yahiko was convinced to leave, Kenshin had already started to make dinner. Not wanting a repeat of today's breakfast, she let him cook dinner and let Kenshin give her a few pointers on how not to kill the food.
Once it was ready, they sat down at the table. Dinner turned out much better then breakfast. They talked about nothing in particular. Before Kaoru knew it, dinner was over. They cleaned the dishes then went outside.
Kaoru left Kenshin on the porch and went into her room to retrieve the package that had the clothes that she had gotten for Kenshin in it. She hid it behind her back and walked outside.
Kenshin was enjoying the night, It seemed as if the stars were attempting to hid the black sky from his view but theirs attempts were futile. He could have been finishing up the laundry but his body wasn't up for that much more. He heard Kaoru coming out of her room hiding something behind her back. Kaoru brought the wrapped package around front.
"Are those the new clothes that you got for yourself Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin asked.
"You're right about them being new clothes but, well, they're not for me," she answered.
"Who are they for?" Kenshin asked as he stared at her confused.
"They're for you," she replied as she handed to package to him.
He stared at it for a minute before he opened it. When he did her found the magenta and midnight blue gis that Kaoru had gotten him along with the gray and white hakamas.
"Ar.Arigato Kaoru-dono. You really didn't need to do this," Kenshin stated.
"Yes I did. Stop being so stubborn. The clothes that you have now can only be fixed o many times. What your wearing now is beyond repair. Yes, I needed to and wanted to. You deserve the best whether you think you do or not," Kaoru verbalized.
All Kenshin could do was stare at her. She really had grown into someone her could respect and even . well . love perhaps. He was so thankful that he had been blessed with her.
He stood up and helped Kaoru up. Then to her surprise he hugged her and whispered, "Thank you for everything."
Kaoru stiffened as she heard those words. She gently pulled back to look at Kenshin. He had said those words to her before he left. Except now, he wasn't leaving. Kaoru started to understand the hidden meaning behind those words. She finally realized that one day she wouldn't have to worry about him leaving her again anymore.
Kaoru gave Kenshin a small smile, "Good night Kenshin," she said as she started to retreat,
"Good night Kaoru-dono," Kenshin answered.
They turned and went separate ways to their respective rooms looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.
~Owari~
Author's Notes: That's the most I've ever written for a one shot. In fact, this is my first one shot. My other one shot ended up being 3 chapters long. Anyway, I hope you liked this story. It seemed to me to me to be something that needed to be written. I know that in the beginning the characters are a little out of character. The inspiration came to me when I was thinking about all the times in fanfics and in the anime Kaoru gets a new kimono. Kenshin deserves to get something new every once in a while to.
Some things are kind over random. I didn't even know when I first started writing the story that I was going to add to part about the Kyoto arc in it. It just seemed like the write thing to do. I hope it flows together alright since considering I stopped and started working on this fic about 12 times. Anyway, I gotta go. Please review!!! Bye!