Disclaimer: I don't own RK. 'Nuff said.
It was a lazy summer afternoon in Tokyo, and lunch hour at the Akabeko was as hectic as ever. The air was thick with the smell of both food and people, creating a haze over the heads of the customers as they hungrily devoured their food while conversing eagerly with their neighbors about issues ranging from the price of tofu to government policies. Tsubame and Yahiko were out of breath running from the kitchen to the tables, taking orders and serving dishes, and were too busy to notice three familiar faces when they entered the restaurant.
"Geez, this place is crowded," Sanosuke said lazily, waving a hand in front of his face. "Figures, I guess, since Tae-san's food is so great." He cast a meaningful look at Kaoru.
"Not to mention she's nice enough to feed a great big pig like you who doesn't even pay for his meals," Kaoru said sweetly, ignoring Sanosuke as she looked for a spare table.
Kenshin grinned at Sanosuke's scowl. "I think Kauro-dono is right, Sano. What other restaurant in Tokyo would let you eat so much for free?"
"It's not for free," a slight frazzled but ever-smiling Tae greeted them. "It's credit. I know Sanosuke-san will pay me back... someday." She gave Sanosuke a wry glance that made him shrug uncomfortably.
"Let's hope in this lifetime," Kaoru replied doubtfully. "Are you too busy, Tae-san? We can come back later..."
"No, no. Just a minute. I'm sure one of the tables will clear up in a moment." Tae rushed to investigate, and soon she waved to the three friends as a group of four stood up from their table. As the three of them took their seats, Tae quickly cleared the remains and left them to order. Kaoru and Sanosuke discussed the menu - Sano was for salmon and rice, but Kaoru held on to beef stew - and Kenshin smiled at their familiar bickering as he let himself listen idly to the conversations around them. One heated debate caught his attention.
"...never trust them," a man behind him was growling, traces of sake evident in his slightly unsteady tone. "They come here all nice smiles, and then they take the land right out from under our feet!"
"The government will protect our rights," his companion said uncertainly.
The first man snorted. "As if the Meiji government ever cared about the people!"
"Kenshin!" Kaoru's voice made Kenshin look up questioningly. "Is beef okay with you?"
"Next time we get salmon," Sanosuke grumbled as Kenshin nodded. Kaoru gave the order to Tsubame and smiled brightly at Sanosuke. "When you pay, Sano-chan, I will be happy to let you order whatever you want."
As they waited for their meal to come out, Kaoru noted that there were several foreigners sitting in the Akabeko, trying to remain unobserved but their paleness among the regulars sticking out like letters written in white chalk on a blackboard. "You never see many foreigners around here," she wondered. "Do you think they're tourists?"
"Pretty under-dressed to be tourists," Kenshin observed, looking at their cotton kimonos. "Tourists usually stay in hotels and go to see Buddhist temples."
Sanosuke shrugged. "Who cares? Maybe they just heard how good the food is here. Besides, they're not the only newcomers here. Look at that girl over there. I don't remember seeing her before, and I know I would remember someone like that."
Kaoru and Kenshin discreetly turned their heads in the direction Sanosuke was looking, to see a girl perhaps a little older than Kaoru sipping a cup of tea. She had blue-black hair twisted on top of her head, and her eyes were lowered modestly. Her kimono was an unremarkable shade of dark green, unlikely to stand out in a crowd, but as Sanosuke had said she didn't seem the type of person to be overlooked - perhaps not beautiful in the classical sense, but certainly not unpleasant to look at. Her features were delicately formed, in an oval face that seemed almost like a mask, and she moved with a subtle grace. Her outward appearance, however, gave the impression of a colorful screen, put up to distract observers from trying to into the essence behind the glamor.
"Oi, pretty lady," a drunken voice drawled. "Come and pour us some sake, ne?"
The girl looked up, her eyes a startling shade of deep midnight blue. She contemplated the invitation for a brief moment before opening her mouth. "I am not a geisha," she said in a perfectly respectful tone, her voice low and melodious. "And even if I were, you couldn't afford to kiss the hem of my kimono, let alone drink anything I pour." She smiled serenely at the man and his friends, who were sitting at the table next to her. "Gomen nasai," she added, faintly mocking.
It took the men a moment in their drunken stupor to realize they had been insulted. One of them stood up and towered over the girl, glaring at her out of his narrow eyes. "Say that again, bitch?"
"I don't think I will, pig."
With a roar, the man raised a hand to slap the girl's face, but his outrage turned into a scream of pain as Sanosuke jerked his arm and pinned it to his back, twisting it so the man was balanced on his toes, howling. The other customers buried themselves in their food, studiously ignoring the little drama. "Didn't you hear the lady?" Sanosuke snapped. "Eat your food and get lost, and leave the lady alone."
One of them fumbled in his robes, presumably for a weapon, but Kenshin stopped him cold with a look of warning, a dangerous spark in his purple eyes. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Sanosuke shoved the man he was holding into his seat, releasing his hold, and the man scowled, rubbing his shoulder. "Let's get out of here," he muttered to his friends, and they shuffled out of the Akabeko with a stream of muttered curses. Kaoru was also on her feet and now she was bending over the girl. "Are you all right?"
"Daijoubu," she replied. "Sumimasan." She smiled at Kaoru. "I could have handled those idiots, but thank you for saving me the trouble." Her dark head bowed briefly towards Sanosuke and Kenshin. "My name is...Kigaii Karen."
Kenshin sensed the heartbeat of hesitation before her name, but did not voice his thoughts aloud as they made their introductions. "You're new around here, aren't you?" Kaoru added. "Come and eat with us. You won't be bothered, I promise."
"Yeah, who'd bother tanuki-girl?" Sanosuke grinned, dodging Kaoru's fist.
As Karen joined their table with murmured thanks, Kenshin couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before. Which is odd, because I'm sure I would remember her if I had...no, I'm sure I haven't. Then why does she look so familiar? It was as if he was trying to remember part of a dream long past. I must be growing old, he thought ruefully.
"If your last name is Kamiya," Karen was saying to Kaoru. "Are you by any chance connected to the Kamiya Dojo here in Tokyo?"
"Actually, we live there," Kaoru told her with a surprised laugh. "My father was the master of Kamiya Kashin-ryuu before he died, and I am acting as master in his place."
"It's a run-down dojo with one master and one student," Sanosuke supplied, ignoring Kenshin's nudging elbow. Kaoru pointedly refused to reply to Sanosuke's rude comment. "But why do you ask, Karen-san?"
"My father..." Karen hesitated. "My father knew your father, Kaoru-san. He passed away awhile ago, but he begged me to go and pay my respects to the man who had once saved his life. I did not know he was dead as well..."
There was a short silence, then Kaoru reached out and squeezed Karen's hand impulsively. "I know what it's like, Karen-san. I'm so sorry."
"No, I am over my grief now." Karen smiled pensively. "I suppose this is all rather sudden for you. I meant to write before I came, but Father never told me the exact location of where Kamiya-sama lived. For all I knew, the dojo had been burned down during the aftermath of the war."
"Why didn't your father come during his lifetime?" Kenshin asked gently.
Karen eyed Kenshin almost warily for a brief moment, but her face betrayed no discomfort when she answered his question. "His health has always been poor. My family used to live in Tokyo, until the doctor told us we should move to the country for my father's health. I was too little to remember much. Tokyo seems an entirely new world to me." She laughed a little at herself.
Over lunch, Karen told Kaoru the story of how her father had been a fairly profitable shop owner before they had had to leave for the country. One night, as he had been going home from the store, carrying the profits of that day, he had been waylaid by thieves who demanded he hand over his money in exchange for his life. They had chosen a bad place to do it, though - right in front of the Kamiya Dojo.
"My father told me so much about your father, Kaoru-san, I feel as if I already know you," Karen said warmly.
Kaoru found herself returning her smile. "Will you be staying in Tokyo long, Karen-san?"
"I ... don't know." Karen lowered her eyes. Kaoru thought she looked almost frightened. "I am an orphan now, I suppose. I should find a way of earning enough to live on, but I haven't been able to think much about it..."
"Do you know how to use that sword, Karen-dono?" Kenshin said suddenly, pointing to a bundle at Karen's feet. The handle of a katana poked out from the top, although swathed in cloths to make it hard to recognize.
"A little," Karen replied smoothly, returning Kenshin's gaze unflinchingly.
"Karen-san, why don't you stay with us for awhile?" Kaoru said impulsively. "There's plenty of room. Please say yes! I'd feel terrible if you just left. Maybe we can help you find a job here in Tokyo." She glanced at Kenshin. "I'd be an orphan myself, if it wasn't for Kenshin and Yahiko - I know what it's like to be alone. You don't mind, Kenshin, do you, if Karen-san stays with us for awhile?"
"Not at all," Kenshin said, a trifle absently as Kaoru and Karen began to chat about lighter topics while Sanosuke busied himself with finishing off the stew. There was something about this Kigaii Karen that he wasn't sure of. Her story was credible and she showed no insecurity in telling it, yet Kenshin couldn't help thinking that she wasn't telling the truth, at least not entirely. Stop being so suspicious, he chided himself, but at the same time he made a mental note to keep an eye on her. The first time he had met Kaoru, she had been tricked into taking in an old man who was scheming to sell the dojo for his own profit. He wouldn't let it happen again.
Karen turned out to be a pleasant addition to the Kamiya Dojo. She did many of the domestic chores, from cooking meals to doing the laundry, and she proved to be a fairly competent cook. There was only one thing she refused to do, and that was practice in the dojo.
"Why do you carry around a sword, if you don't use it?" Yahiko asked her bluntly, one evening several days after she had settled in.
"Because it's pretty, Yahiko-kun," Karen said cheerfully. "It's shiny and quite valuable, in case I ever need quick cash. But I couldn't cut an apple with it, I'm afraid. You'd have me begging for mercy in ten seconds, Yahiko-kun."
"I could teach you, Karen-san," Kaoru offered helpfully.
"No, it's all right," Karen laughed. "I'm quite content washing dishes, like Kenshin-san there." She pointed to Kenshin, who was at the moment busy wiping the last of their bowls dry. "I've never seen him use his sword, either," she continued innocently, seemingly oblivious to the uncomfortable silence settling over Yahiko and Kaoru at her words. "I suppose he's as bad as using the sword as I am. Is that so, Kenshin-san?"
"I don't like using it much, Karen-dono," he replied easily. "I'd rather wash the dishes."
"Wise words," Karen remarked. The sun was disappearing fast down the horizon, casting long shadows in the dim light. "It's getting dark. How about some tea before bed?"
As Kaoru went to draw some water from the well, and Karen disappeared into the kitchen, Yahiko nudged Kenshin and whispered, "I don't believe her."
Kenshin looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean, you don't believe Karen-dono? Don't believe what?"
"That she doesn't know kenjitsu," he said, eyes narrowed in thought. Kenshin raised his eyebrows. "Oro... why would she lie to us?"
"I dunno." Yahiko shrugged. "Aah, who cares if she does or not? She can cook okay. That's a lot more than you can say for Kaoru." He grinned mischievously. Kenshin laughed a bit nervously, glancing over his shoulder to see if Kaoru might have overheard, but thankfully she was still at the well. No need for a violent end to an otherwise peaceful day.
Karen opened her eyes. It was the middle of the night, from all she could tell, still several hours from dawn. Beside her, Kaoru breathed softly in slumber. What woke me up? she thought, sitting up to cock her head in concentration. Something woke me up.
A moment later, she reached for a robe and her katana before silently sliding out of her blankets and leaving the room. Her bare feet whispered on the ground as she stole across the yard. With a light jump she vaulted the dojo walls, landing gracefully in the shadows. At first glance she seemed to be alone, but a thin line of cigarette smoke betrayed the presence of another.
"You know, you could try coming during visiting hours," Karen hissed, her eyes catching the moonlight and glowing with annoyance. "Must you skulk around like some sort of fugitive?"
"It's what I do best," a deep voice said dryly. "You expected me to drop a calling card?"
"Why are you here?"
A cloud of smoke preceded his words. "Busy making new friends?"
"It's what you told me to do," she snapped under her breath. "I don't see why. Why can't we do this out in the open? I don't like lying to these people."
"They are bait," the man said in a neutral tone. "You know that. And it wasn't my idea, this entire plan of you socializing with these people. It was yours."
"Cold-blooded lizard," she said, but her tone was almost affectionate, as if she were complimenting him.
"Thank you."
She sighed. "Nothing out of the ordinary yet. Don't you think Kenshin-san would know if something was wrong? I still don't know why I'm here."
"Battousai's growing soft in the head," her companion said scornfully. "Besides, this is what we do. It's your job to take care of these things."
"For this lousy pay?" she murmured, taking a few steps closer to him and looking up at his face. "Lousy pay makes for poor spies. I could be very easily bribed."
"Yes, and then I'd have to kill you."
Karen laughed softly, her hand moving up to caress the side of the lean face, guiding it to meet her lips in a brief but smoldering kiss. "I have no doubt you would," she whispered, before leaving as quietly as she had appeared.