*Disclaimer: I DO own RuroKen, de gozaru!! I have Volume 1 in my closet! XD*
*Summary: Kaoru and Sanosuke live together in their apartment, and because of Kaoru's caring nature, adopts a homeless boy named Shinta. After adjusting to new life, trouble arrives when Enishi and his blind younger sister, Tomoe, come to town. Kaoru finds herself attracted to Enishi, and Sanosuke, seeing this, confesses his feelings for her. Things are further confused as Enishi hates Shinta because of his close friendship with Tomoe. Sorting out her feelings, taking care of Shinta, teaching kendo, and helping trying to raise money for Tomoe's operation to get her sight back; will Kaoru ever get her life back to normal?*
Blind At Heart
Ch 1.
It began when Kaoru's students began talking of the homeless kid who could be seen loitering around outside the dojo at times. A small, red haired child, they said. His sightings, which were becoming more frequent, made him the center of gossip with the students of the dojo.
"He just stands out there, and he keeps looking at me when I go in and out," said one girl, after a vicious spar. "He makes me nervous."
"How can he just be living out there? Don't they have a shelter for kids or something like that?" asked another.
Kaoru, who had been just about ready to snap at the two for chattering during the lesson, softened at the latter's concerned tone. "I'm sure they do," she said warmly, startling the two; they hadn't known she had been listening. "But this gives you an idea of what you want to do when you grow up. Wouldn't you like to do something better for the community?"
The girls nodded dumbly, while a boy a few feet away laughed. "Eavesdropping, Kaoru-sensei! I thought grown ups were supposed to set examples!"
The children laughed, and laughed harder as the offending boy was assigned 100 more practice strokes to do. But even as she turned away, Kaoru allowed herself a small smile. She loved this. Teaching the Kamiya Kasshin, her father's last gift, to these warm hearted children was one of the most enlightening things that she could ever be blessed with, in her opinion. And as she demonstrated the correct way to thrust, exhilaration rushing through her body, the homeless boy flowed out of Kaoru's mind.
~*~
"Sanosuke! SANOSUKE!" Kaoru shouted from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!"
"Yeah, yeah," came a muffled voice, and a moment later, Sanosuke Sagara strolled into the kitchen, the insufferable fishbone lodged in his mouth. He took one look at the plate of "dumplings" Kaoru had in her hands, and then snorted, "I think I'll be having Ramen this time, Jou-chan."
"Fine," she grumbled, carrying the steaming food to the small kitchen table haughtily. "You've been having Ramen for the past few weeks; don't you want to try something different?"
"I'd rather have Ramen then your newest concoctions, Jou-chan." He said dryly. "I mean, you were actually starting to cook the rice better, but now you've switched off to harder stuff. You oughta stick to what you can chew. And take that literally."
Kaoru didn't know whether to fume at him or be thankful for the smallest hint of a compliment he had mentioned about her rice. She chose to remain silent, proudly eating her dumplings with black bottoms and bursting with stuffing.
Feeling slightly sick afterwards, she decided to vent on him. "Sanosuke, bills have arrived."
She watched his back cringe with slight amusement. "So? You know I don't have the cash," he mumbled through a mouth full of noodles. Kaoru had been expecting this, but that didn't mean she'd be happy about it.
"SANOSUKE SAGARA!" she roared. "We share this apartment together, so we both have our set of responsibilities! If you keep skipping your half of the rent, then we're going to get kicked out! The least you could do is get a job, you lousy bum!"
Now he swiveled around to look at her, careful not to spray her with bits of noodle as he talked (he didn't want to get mauled by a crazy raccoon girl, after all). "Hey! I gave up buying Sake, didn't I?! Sake, for chrissakes!"
"Yeah, only Sake!" she shouted back. "You still gamble, and you manage to ruin your clothes on a daily basis fighting who knows what-"
"I was protecting civilians from creeps!"
"-your room is completely filthy-"
"All guy's rooms are!"
"And…" Kaoru trailed off, unable to think of anything else. "And…"
Sanosuke smirked.
"And you insult my cooking!" she finished, pointing at him dramatically.
"It's called critiquing!"
"Oooh!" she fumed. "You always talk back!"
Sanosuke slurped up the rest of his noodles, waving a hand unconcernedly at her. "Don't worry Jou-chan, I'll get the money."
"Course you will, free loader," she grunted.
She turned back to poking her dumplings with her chopsticks, and a moment later Sanosuke threw the Ramen cup away and ambled back to his room, whistling. Kaoru, still being in a sour mood, racked her mind quickly for another complaint, which came to her quickly.
"AND YOU KNOW WHAT?! YOU ALWAYS LEAVE THE TOILET SEAT UP!"
"Ungggh!??"
~*~
Though the students said they saw the homeless boy quite often, it wasn't until a few months that Kaoru caught sight of him.
She had stayed later than usual to clean every aspect of the dojo and check every bokken for wear (though it was the student's job to do) and was quite tired as she stepped from the dojo to the chipped pavement outside. And under the streetlight was the homeless child, she realized, as soon as she looked up.
Even though the streetlight was shining on his head, Kaoru could not see the boy's face well. His knees were up against his chest, arms curled around them, and Kaoru eyed the longer-than-usual red tangled locks that fell against his cheeks and neck. She took all this in less than a second, and right after, the boy noticed he was being watched. His bowed head rose up, and Kaoru felt her breath catch into her throat as she saw the sweetest face in the world peer up at her.
The boy's eyes were a beautiful shade of violet Kaoru had not seen in a long time, and his expression was priceless. It held a look of innocence and wariness that was heartbreaking for her.
This was the boy who looked at the dojo so wistfully, according to her students. The boy whose stare was piercing and wide. And then Kaoru stumbled forward off of the sidewalk onto the street, planning to cross it to get to him, and she called out, "Hello there! Please, come here-" but the friendly voice broke off as the boy jumped to his feet and sprinted away.
"Wait a second!" She cursed quietly and dropped her bags, taking off after him. "Hey, wait!"
Kaoru was not a track runner, but she was considerably fast. But this boy was incredible. Already, his red head was just a dot as big as her pinky nail, and as he turned a corner, Kaoru knew she had lost him. Her running slowed into a stop, and she panted, hands on her knees. At last she knew the face of the mystery child. And now that she had seen him, questions, which had been forgotten, plagued her mind.
Who is he? What is his name? How did he come to be here? Doesn't he have any family? Why does he watch my dojo? And, how did he become so damn fast?
She stood up and gazed down the street wistfully. That boy…
~*~
Author's Notes:
Short. Short short short short! O.o' Shortest I've ever done for a chapter. I'm not happy with it at all! Heh. Ah well. It's only the prologue chapter.
Just to let you know, the pairings won't come into effect until a bit later, after Kaoru and Sanosuke adopt Shinta. Yes, Shinta. I won't be using the name "Kenshin". So be prepared to get used to it! ^_^