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Onto the story!
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Chapter 1 ; "Ignorance Is Bliss"
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He walked past me, holding a pail of water. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and amethyst met sapphire. I smiled and followed him closely, looking down at the ground as we walked.
"Where is Yahiko?" He asked and stopped by the clothing line.
"I told him that I'd practice with him later." I stopped next to him and watched as he bent down and emptied the pail of water into the washtub.
"He is getting stronger, that he is, Miss Kaoru. You know that you're a great swordsmanship teacher, right?" He placed the empty pail next to him and took one of my kimonos from the pile of clothes.
I blushed ever so slightly. "Thank you, Kenshin. Sadly he is my only apprentice at the time."
He looked up at me and smiled brightly as he slid his sleeves up past his elbows, tying them up. "You'll get new students, don't worry. I'm sure of it, that I am."
I couldn't help but smile. "Okay."
He looked down at the kimono he was holding and carefully brought it under the water as he started to scrub it on the washboard.
"Hey, Kenshin, Missy."Sanosuke walked through the gate, closing it behind him.
I twitched at my nickname...Missy.
"Hello, Sano." Kenshin looked back at him and smiled before going back to scrubbing.
"Hey, Missy, what's wrong?" Sano walked over to us and buried his hands into his pockets.
"Nothing, Sanosuke." I sighed. "I was just thinking that--"
"Can I borrow some money?" He bit his lip.
"I was just thinking that you only wanted money..." I rolled my eyes. "And you probably only want it for gambling, am I right?" I raised an eyebrow as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"What if I say yes?"
"Then I say no." I grinned slightly, knowing that gambling was his weakness and he'd do practically anything to go out with his friends.
"And what if I say no?"
"Then you have to prove to me that a thug like you isn't going to go behind my back and use my money for gambling. Give me a reason why you want this money." I reached into the sleeve of my kimono and pulled out a small bag which held some money.
"Um..."
I raised my eyebrow again and kept the slight grin on my lips. By this time, Kenshin had glanced up at us every now and then, keeping track of all that was being said. "Do you have an answer? If not, this money's going right back into my sleeve."
"I wanted to buy some flowers." His words were rather quick and my eyebrow lowered, my grin fading.
"For who?" My eyes narrowed and I cocked my head slightly, showing interest in the topic at hand.
"The Fox."
Fox...another nickname. But not mine. A nickname I despised because it only meant one person....Megumi.
"Megumi?"
"Mhm....can I have the money now?"
I stared at him for a few moments as I thought. 'Why should I give money to Sano, when he's only going to buy Megumi flowers. Then, I'd be doing a nice thing for Megumi..and that cant happen.' "No." I turned my head away slightly, putting the money back into my sleeve.
He blinked a few times. "Nani? Why not?" His eyes grew slightly wide.
"Why should I help that Fox of a woman when all she tries to do is steal Kenshin away from me--" I had realized what I said too late and my nails dug into my arms slightly. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Kenshin had stopped. I felt a chill run down my back and couldn't notice the slow blush growing on my cheeks.
"From you?" Sano raised an eyebrow at me and a grin slowly formed upon his face. "Now I know I didn't just hear 'all she tries to do is steal Kenshin away from me', right?"
I swallowed hard and fumbled with my words. "No..I..meant that she's trying...to..." I felt more heat rise to my cheeks. Kenshin looked up at me, hiding any expression the was known to give. He would always smile for me even when he was in pain or when something was troubling him. If he were to smile now, I would feel horrible. If he were to smile now and laugh it off, saying that it was okay and that he didn't mind...I would still feel horrible. But he just stared up at
me. I looked down at him as my arms slowly unfolded and fell to my sides. My mouth opened slightly but nothing came out other than my breath.
"Missy's got a crush on Kenshin, eh?" Sano nudged me gently and my blush darkened.
"That's...not it..." I looked up at Sano. 'If Kenshin knew my true feelings toward him, he'd just tell me that I'm too young. I don't care if I'm 17 and he's 28! I don't! ..... But .....'
He just stared up at me, as if he were thinking of what to say. I couldn't love the sight of the amethyst eyes below me if they were to just stare back with that cold expression. I turned quickly and rushed past Sano, my long hair brushing his side slightly as I broke into a run.
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.........What could I have said to him then?
.........What would he say back?
.........Would he tell me he loves me just as much as I love him?
No. He'd tell me that it's just a silly phase I'm going through and I need to let it pass. But Kenshin's not that kind of person. He's always sweet, generous, and understanding. If you didn't know Kenshin, you might not be able to guess that he was the legendary Hitokiri Battousai (unless you remembered his unique features, that is). The legendary assassin of Japan. He was. But that was before...that was ten years ago. The long red hair that reached his lower back in a loose ponytail, the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, the amethyst eyes, and the sakabatou that he carried....they all told the truth....that he was the legendary sword-bearing assassin.
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I rushed into my room, sliding the door closed behind me. I stood next to the door for a few moments before walking over to my futon and kneeling on it.
'What do I do? He knows...they both know.' My hands found refuge on my futon before me and they gripped the soft material, my nails digging into it. I stared down at my hands and black inky hair fell over my shoulders, enclosing my face. I cried silently, some tears not even bothering to stain my cheeks as they fell between my straining fists.
"What is he going to say? He'll ignore me so he won't have to say anything...I don't want that...."
---------------"Kenshin..." Sano grinned.
"Yes...Sanosuke...?" Kenshin slowly replaced his dazed look with a calm gaze.
"You've got yourself a girlfriend." He crouched down next to Kenshin, grinning, and stared at the kimono that lay in the water.
"Oro?" Kenshin blinked. "S-Sanosuke, Miss Kaoru is not my girlfriend, you know that. She doesn't even like me, that she doesn't. Plus--"
"Doesn't like you?" Sano looked up at Kenshin like he had three heads. "Did you not hear what the Missy just said?"
"Hai, I did, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she likes me." He looked down at the kimono surrounded by water in the washtub.
"Uh, yeah, it does." Sano rolled his eyes.
Kenshin sighed. "Sanosuke...she doesn't like me. I'm much older than her, that I am.."
"That doesn't mean Missy doesn't like you. She just practically flat-out told you."
"Even if she were to like me...which she doesn't," Kenshin glanced up at Sano for a moment to see him rolling his eyes again and then looked back down at the kimono. "I am not worthy of her. I am not worthy of anyone giving me affection, that I am not." He looked up at his surroundings with a slight smile. "I'm lucky that she let me live here with her. When she asked me to stay here, she didn't even know my name. She didn't know who I was...who I had been in the past..." He looked down at the green grass that stuck out of the soft ground around them. His smile brightened ever so slightly. "And even when she found out...she still let me stay. She told me that my past didn't matter to her. It didn't matter that Battousai was staying at her dojo." He looked up at Sano. "I felt so relieved."
---------------I laid down on my side, still crying silently. I stared at the wall across from me through locks of black hair. 'How can I be around him anymore? He thinks of me as a child, doesn't he?' I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, my hair lay sprawled out on the futon under me. 'What am I supposed to say when he talks to me? What if he brings this up?'
---------------"So you think she doesn't like you at all?" Sano cocked his head slightly.
"No." Kenshin looked up at Sano. "Why, do you think she does?" He sat back, crossing his legs.
"Duh, are you blind?" Sano brought his index and middle finger up to his forehead. "Apparently you're just dense." He lowered his hand back into his pocket.
Kenshin sighed and looked up at the sky. "There are plenty of men her age around here, that there are. She'd be better off with one of them." He looked at Sano and laughed quietly. "She'd be better off with you."
Sano twitched. "Don't even joke about that..."
"Sorry." Kenshin smiled slightly with a sigh and leaned forward, getting onto his knees. He grabbed the kimono in the water and started rubbing it against the washboard again.
"No problem, just...think before you speak."
"Sanosuke," Kenshin grinned slightly, speaking in a sarcastic voice. "Has Miss Megumi been teaching you new vocabulary?"
Sano twitched again. "No."
"I could've sworn I heard you say something smart." Kenshin laughed quietly and cont. scrubbing the kimono.
"Okay, I said something smart...so how about you do something smart and shut up." Sano grit his teeth.
"Do I have to?" Kenshin asked in a joking tone, raising his eyebrows as he looked up at Sano.
"Yeah, 'cause I'm gonna beat your face in if you don't." Sano clenched his fist.
"Oro?" Kenshin's eyes widened slightly. "Ha-Hai, Sanosuke, I'm sorry." He whimpered quietly.
"You better be." Sano relaxed his fist and sighed. "You know, Missy looked pretty upset when she left."
"Yeah..."
---------------I sat up slowly and leaned back on my hands. "What am I going to do?" I slowly stopped crying and rubbed my eyes. 'I'm going to talk to him...' I stood and brushed my kimono off, walking toward my door, thoughts of being rejected running fast throughout my mind. I slid my door open and walked into the hallway, eventually through the training hall and into the yard.
"So whatcha gonna do?" Sano asked, not noticing that I was walking toward them.
Kenshin had to have sensed my presence, but chose not to look at me. He can sense anyone from a certain distance, especially people he knows.
"Kenshin?"I hesitated slightly before kneeling down next to him and resting my hands in my lap.
"Miss Kaoru, there you are." He looked at me with a smile..his famous smile...the only expression I knew he was capable of giving other than that cold stare I had seen before.
"I'd like to talk to you." My eyes concentrated on him. That smile always meant something...something I couldn't comprehend...what did it mean? What was he thinking?
"Of course."
"Should I...go?" Sano suggested. I had never seen Sano act and polite. He'd always want to barge in on my life and know everything.
"No, that's okay Sano. You don't have to." Right now, I didn't care who was there. As long as Kenshin was. Maybe it was better that Sano was there, maybe he won't tease me?
"Alright, what is it, Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin's smile faded slightly but still remained.
"Kenshin, about before..."
Kenshin nodded and tilted his head slightly, showing concern.
"I'm sorry."
"For what? Why are you sorry?" Kenshin's concerned face changed to a slightly puzzled one.
I looked up at him "I...I'm sorry for.." There was a short pause. "I don't know...but I'm sorry." I couldn't tell him straight out. I don't know why, I just couldn't.
"Don't be sorry." He smiled...yes...that smile.
"I have to be...I am..." I looked down at the ground in-between us. There was such a large gap there...I wanted to get rid of that gap and understand his feelings, his emotions, what he was thinking. But I couldn't.
"Miss Kaoru, I don't know what you are sorry for, that I don't."
"That's okay..just accept my apology. Please.."I looked at him with pleading, sapphire orbs and he stared back. I soon got lost in the amethyst before me and it seemed like forever until a word was spoken.
"Alright." Kenshin nodded once. "But I still don't understand what you're sorry for, that I don't."
"It's okay, you don't have to."
Sano watched, not understanding either. "Missy.."
I reluctantly took my eyes off of Kenshin and looked at Sano.
"What are you so sorry for?" Sano's eyebrows lowered.
"Nothing, Sano." I looked back at Kenshin, who was watching me with his smile. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."
Kenshin nodded once. "It's alright, that it is." He turned and resumed scrubbing my kimono.
I watched him with a sigh.
'If only he knew...'
---------------Woo. Only a small amount of Japanese terms in this. This chapter was originally written as a school assignment, and seeing as my classmates and teachers wouldn't understand, I used simple Japanese terms. I'm going to do that for my other chapters/fics.
This might be a one-shot or maybe have another chapter.
Review!