Summary: Kenshin and Sano are stranded in Gensai-sensei's clinic due to heavy rains and wind leaving Yahiko and Kaoru alone in the Dojo. What problem awaits these two left inhabitants of the Dojo?
NOTE: This may be OOC, you've been warned. Kenshin and Kaoru are already engaged. Yahiko hasn't left the Dojo yet and Sano did not run off to another country to escape the police and Megumi is still with Gensai-sensei. Oh and Kenshin does not refer to himself as Sessha in this story (he's already over and done with it ;p). One more thing, I completely made up the basement part of the storage house.
DISCLAIMER: Rorouni Kenshin is property of Nobohiro Watsuki, Jump Comics and Sony.
"I trust you two will be careful while Sano and I are at Gensai-sensei's clinic."
Kenshin said to Yahiko and Kaoru while preparing to go to the clinic.
"Yeah, we'll be fine Kenshin," replied Yahiko. "As long as Busu here does not get too scared of thunder and lightning and starts screaming like a loony."
"Why you little brat!" Kaoru said, trying to hit Yahiko with her trusty boken.
"Maa maa, you two," appeased Kenshin to the two combatants.
Both Kaoru and Yahiko stopped but smirked at each other with a promise of getting even. Sano, who was quietly sitting on the Dojo porch waiting for Kenshin, chuckled at the behavior of his friends. This did not escape Kaoru's attention.
"And what happens to be funny rooster head?" asked Kaoru.
Instead of answering the fuming Kaoru, Sano chewed on his fishbone and urged Kenshin to hurry up before the storm comes.
"Kenshin, hurry up. You don't want to get stranded at the clinic and leave these two alone here in the middle of the storm."
Kenshin nodded his agreement. Before heading out of the door, he kissed Kaoru on the forehead goodbye.
"Be careful on your way to the clinic," Kaoru whispered to her fiancé. "It's already getting dark."
"Hai." Kenshin agrees. "Try not to get too scared of the thunder," he teased Kaoru before kissing her again on the check.
"Mou!"
Kenshin chuckled on his way out of the door.
Sano shouted his goodbye then to his 2 friends. "Try not to hurt each other while Kenshin is away to stop you two."
A loud bang of the door answered Sano. The 2 friends then walked off to the clinic to help do a quick check and fix before the big storm.
Meanwhile at the dojo, Kaoru and Yahiko went to their separate rooms to make a second round of checking. Kaoru suddenly remembered that they've forgotten to check under the storage house.
"Whaaaat!!!" shouted Yahiko when he heard Kaoru's request. "No way I'm going under there. What if there are snakes in there?"
"C'mon Yahiko you're being ridiculous!" Kaoru insisted on Yahiko who was vehemently shaking his head. "There are no snakes in there. Besides, if only I fit there, I will not ask you to get in."
Yahiko sighed and ducked into the hole to look under the storage house. It was already dark but the gloomy and dusky surrounding added to its eerie atmosphere.
"Seen anything unusual Yahiko?" he heard Kaoru's shout from behind him.
Yahiko's eyes squinted in the darkness; he saw nothing unusual from his point of view. He saw cobwebs, old slippers, antdome and old, dirty doll. Yahiko decided to scare Kaoru to get even with her for calling him little brat a while ago and for making him crawl under the storage room.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!" Yahiko screamed as loudly as he could.
Without thinking, she crawled under the storage room and in her haste did not notice the antdome a few inches away from her. She accidentally kicked the antdome and the insects residing in it crawled out of the pile of soil. Big ants started crawling on Kaoru's kimono and legs.
Kaoru mindless of anything but coming to Yahiko did not even notice the ants inching their way up. When she reached his side, she finally noticed that Yahiko was not hurt at all, but was holding his stomach stopping himself from laughing so hard.
"Darn it, Yahiko! That is not funny!" Kaoru angrily slapped Yahiko in his shoulder.
She couldn't hit him hard because there is not enough space to move under.
Yahiko just laughed so hard for having scared Kaoru. When he finally stopped laughing, he only then noticed the ants on Kaoru's shoulder. Yahiko hit Kaoru hard on her shoulder to kill the ant.
"Hey, that hurt you little brat. Why did you hit me?"
Yahiko didn't bother to answer Kaoru when he asked, "Kaoru, when you came in here did you notice an antdome?"
"No. I was in a hurry to get you. Why?"
Yahiko looked behind Kaoru. His face paled when he saw ants crawling out of the dome and onto Kaoru.
Kaoru was looking intently at Yahiko when she saw shock and panic registered in his face. Only then Kaoru felt something crawling on her legs and on her kimono.
Kaoru speedily crawled out of the hole with Yahiko right behind him. Ants were now biting both of them.
"Kaoru, these ants are biting me. They sting."
"Shut up Yahiko. Just crawl out. We'll help each other get rid of it." Kaoru ordered.
Once out, Kaoru and Yahiko started jumping to remove the ants that crawled on their clothes. Yahiko removed his gi to remove the ants that got in his clothes.
Kaoru, who couldn't easily remove her kimono, asked Yahiko to find shears to cut her kimono. Yahiko easily complied with Kaoru's order. He went directly to her room and luckily found a pair of scissors.
The rain started to fall hard.
Yahiko with a pair of scissors in hand, immediately went to Kaoru inside the bathing house to cut her obi. When Kaoru felt that her obi had loosened, she started stripping off her kimono . She was so focused on removing her clothes that she did not notice Yahiko walking out of the bathhouse and shutting the door behind him.
Already naked, Kaoru jumped in the tub, not caring of the chilly temperature of the water as long as she could totally remove the ants that crawled on her. After a few minutes of soaking in the frigid water, Kaoru saw the ants floating. When she saw this, Kaoru jumped out of the tub and dried herself.
She glimpsed patches of bite marks on her back, her legs and her arms. It's starting to get itchy and the anti-itch medicine that they have is not enough for the two of them.
After changing into a yukata, Kaoru went to Yahiko's room to give him the medicine.
"Yahiko?" called Kaoru " Are you okay in there? I'm coming in to give you some anti-itch medicine for the bite marks."
The sight of Yahiko under the thick blankets greeted Kaoru. She instantly went to his side to touch his forehead.
"Yahiko, " whispered Kaoru, " you've a fever." Kaoru rolled Yahiko onto his stomach to rub the anti-itch cream on his back. She also rubbed the cream on his arms and legs. She saved the amount left to be used later when the effect of the cream subsided.
After putting a cold damp cloth on Yahiko's forehead, she tucked him under the thick blankets. She went to the kitchen to heat water and boil tea and medicine for Yahiko's fever.
Outside, rain was pounding harder. The surrounding was enveloped in the darkness of the rain sky making it impossible to travel even with a lamp, soil became very muddy and slippery and floodwater was starting to get high.
The rain came earlier than expected. Kenshin and Sano were stranded in the clinic. Gensai-sensei and Megumi did not allow Kenshin and Sano to walk in the heavy rain and wind for it would be very dangerous.
"But Kaoru and Yahiko are alone in the dojo," the redheaded samurai insisted on the old doctor.
"I'm sure they are safe inside the dojo."
Megumi heard the good doctor's reply to Kenshin, " Gensai-sensei's right. Kaoru is not stupid to go out in this rain. And she will not allow Yahiko to go wander around the dojo ground as well."
She handed everyone a hot tea to ward off the cold temperature. " They're probably sipping hot tea just like we are right now."
Kenshin accepted the tea and remained quiet. He could not rub off the uneasiness he felt. It's probably the rain. Kenshin thought to himself. I'm sure nothing's bad happening right now at home.
"Relax Kenshin. Yahiko and Kaoru sure are sleeping and curled up under their blankets." assured Sano of his friend.
Kenshin slept fitfully that evening.
Back at the Dojo, Kaoru was waking Yahiko so he could drink his tea.
"Yahiko, wake up," said Kaoru to Yahiko while slightly shaking his shoulder. Yahiko slowly opened his eyes.
"Here drink this. It'll ease the fever you have right now." She helped him sit up and help the cup to his lips while Yahiko slowly sipped the medicine.
After drinking the whole cup, Kaoru tucked Yahiko under the blankets again. Yahiko fell back asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow. Kaoru spent a few more minutes with Yahiko and waited until he was deep in slumber. She was also feeling a bit feverish but ignored it. It was her fault that they were both attacked by the ants. If she did not ask Yahiko to crawl under the storage room, then he wouldn't have thought of the joke, thus she wouldn't crawl in also and clumsily kicked the ant dome.
Her back was starting to itch so badly. She would not use any of the anti-itch cream because she was saving it for Yahiko. The cold wind, though, was easing the itch a little. An idea popped into her head when she realized the cold wind lessened the itch.
She went to the bathhouse, filled the tub with freezing water, removed her yukata off and soaked into the tub for a few minutes. When the itch subsided, she got off the water and hurriedly dried herself. After putting her yukata back on, Kaoru went directly to Yahiko's room to check on him.
Kaoru thought of Kenshin while watching over Yahiko. She was now sure that Kenshin and Sano would not be arriving back anytime soon because of the heavy rain. She was positive that Gensai-sensei would not allow the two of them to travel in this heavy rain and wind.
Yahiko's movement caught her attention. He was rubbing his back on the futon. Kaoru realized that the cream probably is starting to lose its effect.
His back was wet from sweat adding to his discomfort. Kaoru decided to change the young man's top. Before putting on a new top, she wiped another layer of cream on his back. When she's finished, she tucked him back under the blankets and changed the cloth on his forehead.
Kaoru started to feel itchy again. She went straight to the bathhouse to soak for a few minutes before returning to watch Yahiko. He never even once stirred from his deep slumber. He was unaware of Kaoru soaking in the cold water every hour to stop the itch of the bite marks.
Before dawn, fatigue overcame Kaoru. She fell asleep wrapped in a light blanket reclining on the post in the corner of Yahiko's room. Her exhaustion from watching Yahiko all night and taking a soak every hour claimed her for the rest of the night.
Kaoru and Yahiko were both fast asleep and did not notice the set of footsteps walking towards them. Kenshin went directly to Kaoru's room to see if she was alright. When he didn't find her there, he went to Yahiko's room next.
Kenshin slowly opened the door to Yahiko's to see if Kaoru was sleeping in Yahiko's room. He did not instantly see Kaoru because she was hidden in the corner of Yahiko's room.
He first saw Yahiko fast asleep covered with his blanket with a cloth on his forehead and a basin beside him. He went to him to check if he still had a fever. Thankfully, Yahiko's fever was gone. Up close, Kenshin finally saw the bite marks that covered Yahiko's arms when he fixed his blanket. He also noticed the small container for the anti-itch cream near the basin.
Looking around the room, his sight caught Kaoru's sleeping form in the corner. Her light blanket was already in her waist, yukata was slightly askew revealing a small part of her shoulder.
Kenshin approached Kaoru to carry her to her room. Near her, he also noticed the bite marks in Kaoru's arms and back. When he touched her to fix her yukata and blanket, he noticed that her skin is hot and she looked flushed.
How did they get the bite marks? Kenshin asked no one while inspecting Kaoru's arms. What happened here? Kenshin decided to wait until the afternoon to find out what happened that night.
He wanted Kaoru and Yahiko to have a fair rest before asking either of them.
Kenshin carried Kaoru towards her room. Kaoru, in her sleep, leaned into Kenshin to get more of his warmth. She slowly awoke when she felt herself being moved. She opened her eyes to see Kenshin looking at her worriedly.
"Hi," Kaoru greeted her fiancé, "Welcome Home."
Kenshin kissed her on the forehead before answering. "I'm Home," he replied softly. " I just got back a few minutes ago. I couldn't leave last night. Sano and I were stranded at Gensai-sensei's clinic," he hugged her tightly to give her more of his warmth, which she gladly accepted.
"What happened with you two?" His decision to ask them in the afternoon did not happen since Kaoru was already awake. Kaoru yawned and tucked her head in Kenshin's neck. "Ants attacked us last night. We..." Kaoru told Kenshin everything that happened to her and Yahiko.
"So, you decided to soak every hour to relieve yourself of the itchiness since you're saving the medicine for Yahiko," Kenshin finished for his fiancée.
"Yes. It's my fault that it happened anyway," she mournfully agreed. "How's Yahiko, by the way? Is he still sick? Does he..." Kenshin's fingers on her lips stopped her from further questioning the redheaded samurai.
"Yahiko's fine Kaoru. He's still sleeping but his fever is gone now," answered Kenshin. "Sano will be coming here in a few minutes with Megumi. I'm sure they'll check on him."
"Why didn't you come with them?" asked Kaoru while he carried her back to her room.
"I couldn't wait for them. I wanted to see if you and Yahiko are okay. I have a bad feeling last night." Kenshin replied.
Inside Kaoru's room, Kenshin kicked her futon to open it and gently placed Kaoru in the middle of her futon. "You've taken care of Yahiko all night, let me take care of you now."
"You look tired and sleepy too Kenshin. Why don't we rest in here for a few minutes while we wait for Sano and Megumi?" Kaoru suggested to Kenshin and patted the space beside her.
Kenshin went to her and laid down on her futon. Kaoru laid beside him and pillowed her head on his chest. Kenshin then wrapped his arm on her waist and shifted her to make her more comfortable.
The couple fell asleep a few minutes later.
Sano and Megumi arrived at the Dojo 30 mins later. They found Yahiko still sleep; thankfully his fever is already gone. They didn't find Kenshin in his room or in the kitchen, so they decided to see if he was with Kaoru.
Megumi slowly opened Kaoru's door and found Kenshin and Kaoru huddled in Kaoru's futon. This was also the sight that greeted Sano when he followed Megumi to Kaoru's room.
He quietly closed the door and pulled Megumi away from the room. "C'mon Megumi. Let's leave those two alone," Sano said to Megumi while they walk back to the kitchen.
"I think Kenshin didn't sleep at all last night; if ever he slept, he got too little of it," explained Sano to Megumi. "He was too worried of Yahiko and especially Kaoru."
The two went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and left the couple who was sleeping peacefully in each other's arms.
A few hours later, Kenshin walked to the kitchen to find breakfast already prepared. He was also relieved to find Yahiko up and well.
"Good morning Ken-san," greeted Megumi.
"Good morning Megumi-dono."
"How's Jou-chan?" Sano asked while chewing his food.
"Kaoru's sick?" Yahiko softly asked Kenshin. He somehow felt responsible for making Kaoru sick and he didn't want Kenshin to see how guitly he looked.
"She's just got a slight fever, Yahiko. Nothing to worry about," Kenshin assured his young friend. "She'll be fine. Just like you."
"I'm sorry Kenshin," he stopped his voice from crackling while apologizing to Kenshin. "I wasn't thinking when I decided to pull a trick on her. I thought she would see the antdome…"
"It's okay. Just be careful." Kenshin rumpled the young boy's hair. "You can apologize to Kaoru when she's awake, ok"
"Hai," a simple and quiet relpy from Yahiko was heard.
Kaoru slowly opened her eyes to the bright sunlight inside her bedroom. Her head still felt heavy and she was too tired to stand up yet. She was about to go back to sleep when her shoji opened. She saw a pair of concerned vioelet eyes looking at her.
"Kaoru," he softly called her name. "I'm glad you're awake."
He knelt beside her futon and brushed her bangs. "I was going to wake you so you can eat you're breakfast."
"I'm not hungry. I'd rather sleep for a couple of hours more," Kaoru replied while burying herself under her blanket.
"You should eat a little, Kaoru," insisted Kenshin. "it'll help you regain your strength"
Kenshin lovingly stroked Kaoru's shoulder while waiting for her to fully awake.
"Alright," Kaoru sighed. "I'll be there in a minute. I'll just change my clothes."
A kiss on the top of her head was Kenshin's reply.
Kaoru changed her sleeping yukata to her training clothes. She slowly walked to the kitchen but was intercepted by Yahiko.
Yahiko was acting very subdued this morning Kaoru thought. "Good morning, Yahiko," she greeted him. "Are feeling better?"
"Hai, Kaoru. Thank you"
"What is it then? Did Kenshin asked you to escort me to the kitchen?" she asked him. "There is no need for you to do that. I'm fine."
Kaoru was about to continue her walk to the kitchen when Yahiko called her. "Kaoru."
She looked back at him and waited for him to say whatever he wanted to say to her. She had a feeling it had something to do about last night.
"Yahiko, I'm sorry I made you crawl under the storage room," Kaoru's words startled Yahiko. "You…" she was about to say more when Yahiko cut him.
"I'm the one who should be sorry Kaoru," These words came as a surprise to her. "I shouldn't have played a trick on you knowing that you really couldn't fit under so…since you're a bigger than I am there is the possibility that you might disturb the antdome."
"Thank you for taking care of me last night. You should have used some of the ointment."
"You're welcome Yahiko," she smiled brightly at him. "That's really sweet of you."
When Kaoru was about to leave again, Yahiko stopped her. "And one more thing, don't tell the others, especially Sano, I said sorry. He'll just tease me," With that he started to walk to his room.
"Good morning BUSU!" Yahiko shouted from inside his room just to irked his sensei.
"Why you!!! Yahiko-Chan!" angrily replied Kaoru.
This is a nice morning. Yahiko said to himself, humming.
THE END