Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin.
A/N: I just wanted to clear up some things in case it caused confusion. Kenshin is somewhere between 18 and 20 years old (depending on where I go with the story), and Kaoru is still her usual 17 year old self. That's why the story is slightly AU, so keep an open mind. Also, I haven't decided yet who, if any, of the Kenshin-gumi know Kenshin or Kaoru, and I still haven't decided if Kenshin and Kaoru will have known each other or not. I'm open to suggestions so please give me some feedback!
Chapter 2: Meeting
Megumi had come in earlier, bringing one of her old kimonos. Fortunately, it was too short for Megumi, so it fit Kaoru perfectly. The girl finished changing and looked at herself in the mirror. Although Megumi had referred to the kimono as "old," Kaoru found it breathtaking. It was navy with soft, white flowers embroidered near the hems, and the ribbon around her waste was pale yellow. Smiling, Kaoru admired herself. She tied her long, raven hair in a high ponytail, using a white ribbon that Megumi had brought her. Her bright sapphire eyes sparkled with joy as she twirled around experimentally with the new kimono.
She was relieved when she looked in the mirror that she was not so unfortunate in the looks department. But she was also disturbed by the fact that even when she viewed her reflection in the mirror, there wasn't yet the faint feeling of recognition. Kaoru paused from twirling to look in the mirror again and shook her head in frustration. "How do I not recognize myself?" Sighing, she tied her locket around her neck. Then there was a soft knock at the door. "Come in," Kaoru called.
Megumi opened the shoji and smiled, "My, my, look at you. You don't look half bad, tanuki."
Kaoru glared at the doctor and shot back, "What do you mean half bad?" It was almost odd how the two were already so comfortable with each other.
"Well, the other patient might find you attractive, but then again, when he sees me…" Megumi started, giving a haughty laugh. Kaoru was fuming and could have sworn she saw fox ears pop out of the doctor's head.
Finally, Kaoru settled on crossing her arms and retorted, "For all you know, I may happen to be quite charming when it comes to entertaining men."
Megumi laughed again, "For all you know, you might be a weepy girl." Kaoru opened her mouth to speak but found herself too horrified. She suddenly felt a wave of panic as she realized that the doctor was right. She didn't know anything about herself. What if she was a huge klutz in front of the guest? Megumi saw her sudden change in demeanor and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, get a hold of yourself. I'm sure you're fine. Besides, the young man isn't much of a talker anyway, so don't worry too much. He won't say anything mean to you." Kaoru looked at the doctor gratefully and nodded. "Come on, it's this way." Kaoru glanced at herself once more in the mirror before turning and following Megumi down the hall.
"Here," Dr. Gensai said. "I brought you these. They were my son's once. I hope they are not too big on you, but they should fit just fine." The redhead looked at the doctor gratefully.
"Thank you."
"Once you are finished getting dressed, just come on down the hallway to the room on your left. I'm sure you will be able to find it just fine," Dr. Gensai finished before walking quietly out of the room. Golden eyes followed him until the shoji closed.
Kenshin turned his attention to the gi and hakama that were laid in front of him. He reached for the clothes and changed quickly. The gi was dark green, which was a nice complement to his bright red hair, and the hakama was simple and black. Dr. Gensai had also given him a small, hand mirror so that he could fix his hair, which turned out to be quite a mess. His long red locks were currently in a tangled web of tresses. He used his fingers to neatly work out all of the knots, and then he put it back up in its usual high ponytail, or at least what he felt was usual. His long bangs still covered his eyes, which glowed gold from beneath them.
There was also a cross-shaped scar that marred his gentle face. He looked at the scar quizzically, wondering how it could have gotten there. It unnerved him a little bit, seeing the scar in the mirror, which he set down abruptly. Something about the scar had unsettled him. However, he pushed the feeling away and stood up.
Once again, he reached for his left side, as if to adjust something. He glanced over at his hip and realized for the second time that day that there was nothing there. He felt like he was missing something again, but he didn't know what it was. He furrowed his brows in concentration as he tried to remember what would be on his left hip that he didn't have. But he was at a loss for what it could be and noted to ask Dr. Gensai about it later. Megumi had seemed confused earlier, but she was a woman, so perhaps she was not the right person to ask. He shrugged and headed for the door.
As he walked down the hall in silence, he paused again. Silence, he thought. He looked down at his feet and took a few more steps. Still silent. It wasn't that he was trying to make noise. In fact, he was just walking as he thought he normally would. But what he found strange was the stealth of his gait. He walked silently and gracefully. However, all day he was hearing footsteps from Megumi, Dr. Gensai, or other people in the clinic. So why were his footsteps silent? After pondering for another moment and deciding that it wasn't a big deal, he decided to continue down the hall, ignoring the lack of noise in his steps.
He could sense people in the room ahead and heard laughter. Megumi, Dr. Gensai, and a woman I don't know, he thought. He again ignored the question lingering in his mind, how could I sense these people? He slid open the shoji and stepped inside. The sight that awaited him was not what he expected.
Megumi and Dr. Gensai he recognized immediately. But the one that intrigued him was the girl sitting next to Megumi. She slowly turned upon seeing him enter and looked up at him. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen and such delicate features. He quickly realized that he was staring and averted his gaze. Dr. Gensai stood up and motioned for him to sit down. "Ah, Kenshin-kun, come sit down. Kaoru, this is the other patient that we were telling you about."
"It's nice to meet you, Kenshin," Kaoru said smiling. She looked curiously at him, noting his odd features. When he had first entered the room, what struck her first was his red hair. It was such an unusual color. She could barely see his eyes, though, as they were covered mostly by his long bangs. He had sharp but gentle, almost delicate, features and an odd cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. She watched him stride across the room in a graceful motion until he sat down across from her next to Dr. Gensai. After the introduction, she greeted him warmly.
He looked up at her, so that she could see his eyes for the first time. And they shocked her because they were gold. This was by far the most unusual boy she had ever met. First, he had red hair. Second, he had a scar on his face. And third, he had gold eyes. Kaoru felt her day was just getting stranger and stranger.
"Hai," he responded softly. It was a short response, almost rude, but Kaoru got the feeling that maybe he just wasn't a very chatty person. Of course, given the circumstances, she could understand why.
"So, Ken-san," Megumi said smoothly. "It certainly looks like the clothes fit well." Kaoru found herself feeling suddenly jealous and glared at Megumi. Ken-san? I thought it was Kenshin, she thought irritably. But then again, why should I care? I don't even know him! But the redhead in front of her ignored the doctor, much to Kaoru's relief. Megumi looked disappointed and then reached over for the tea. "Here, Ken-san, let me pour this for you." She moved closer to him so that her legs were almost touching his as she poured tea into his cup. Kaoru stared wide-eyed at Megumi for her directness, and the redhead suddenly looked flustered. "There, that should make you feel better, hmmm, Ken-san?"
"I can't believe this," Kaoru groaned. When Megumi looked triumphantly over at Kaoru, Kaoru realized to her horror that she had said the comment aloud. She turned bright red and stared down at her rice. Dr. Gensai decided to help the situation by changing the subject.
"So, Kaoru-chan, have you begun to remember anything yet?"
Kaoru was grateful for the doctor's efforts and shook her head. "No, not yet. But at least I know my name. I was hoping that I could go into town tomorrow and see what I can find. Would that be alright?"
"Of course! Although I must say, I do not think you are from around this area. I have been asking around for the past few days, and no one seems to know anything. But I think that getting out into the streets of Kyoto will do you good. You need some fresh air, and maybe something will spark your memory," the doctor said hopefully.
"What about you, Ken-san?" Megumi asked, finally moving back to her own seat, much to the redhead's relief.
"Nothing, but I will look around tomorrow as well."
"That's a good idea. Maybe the two of you can look around together. Or, if you'd like Ken-san, I can show you around."
"Don't you have patients or something?" Kaoru muttered.
"Hmph, you're probably right. But this particular patient needs me."
"I will be fine," Kenshin replied. Megumi looked at him, feeling slightly disappointed, and she ignored the look of satisfaction that had appeared on Kaoru's face.
"Fine, then. You can look around with that sweaty girl over there."
"Hey! You'd better watch your manners, Megumi," Kaoru said, standing up.
"And what would you do if I didn't?"
Kaoru sat back down abruptly and crossed her arms, frowning at the woman. "I don't know," she admitted.
"Why don't you just eat your food over there and be quiet. Ken-san and I have some important things to discuss."
"Like what?" Kaoru said sourly.
Dr. Gensai sighed at the situation. Women, he thought. It was obvious that the young redhead was quite attractive, but he was so quiet that Dr. Gensai wasn't sure what these women saw in him so badly. Shaking his head, he took a bite of his rice. He looked up and saw the redhead next to him deep in thought. "You look troubled, Kenshin. Is something wrong?"
"Iie," he said after a moment. Dr. Gensai looked at him, as if waiting for him to continue. Kenshin sighed and continued, "It's just…I feel like I'm missing something. I keep reaching over to my left as if to grab something, but there's nothing there."
Dr. Gensai set down his food and thought for a minute. There was only one reason that he could come up with, and that was a sword. But the boy was too young to be a samurai or such a good swordsman that he would naturally be reaching for a sword at all times. Giving up, he shrugged. "I don't know, Kenshin. I cannot come up with any explanation for it. Perhaps it's just a nervous habit." Kenshin nodded, but he did not feel the least bit consoled. "You know what? It's been a long day. Perhaps you two should get some rest. Then you can get up early tomorrow morning and explore Kyoto."
Kaoru was thrilled the next morning. She woke up feeling refreshed, and her headache was substantially better. Plus, this was her chance to see if she could find anything about her past. The only thing that made her nervous was spending the day with Kenshin. Although the redhead seemed nice enough, he was rather quiet. Perhaps the fresh air would bring out more of his personality.
Quickly, she got dressed in another one of Megumi's kimonos and headed down the hall. She paused in the hallway as she smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. As she turned the corner, she felt her heart stop. There, in the kitchen, was Kenshin. Kaoru could not believe her eyes. He was stirring something in a large pot over the fire. She stared at him, why is he up so early? And is he…cooking?
"Ah, good morning, Kaoru-san," he greeted without turning around. Kaoru blinked. How did he know it was her? "I made some soup this morning. I think it'll be a long day."
Kaoru shook her head, "Please just call me Kaoru." Then she looked back at the bowl of soup in his hand. "Y-you made breakfast?" she asked incredulously.
"Hai." He handed her a bowl of the soup, and she took a sip. Immediately, she set it down. Kenshin stared at her in surprise. "Is it that bad?"
Kaoru closed her eyes and shook her head. "Iie…it's just that…it's actually really good." Kenshin stared at her. "What? Stop looking at me like that! I'm just jealous because I have this weird feeling that I can't cook at all."
"Well, maybe you should make breakfast tomorrow, and we'll find out."
"I would advise against that." The two turned to see the new speaker, who was standing at the entrance of the kitchen. Megumi walked in and stood next to Kenshin. "May I have some too, Ken-san? My, it smells delicious." Kenshin fumbled to fill a bowl for her, which she accepted graciously. "Thank you. I hope you two enjoy your day. And don't worry, Ken-san, I will be waiting for you when you return." She laughed slyly and left the room.
"I really can't stand her sometimes," Kaoru grumbled, stuffing her face with the soup.
"She means well," Kenshin commented.
"Can you really not say anything mean?" Kaoru asked him. He didn't respond but began to clean the kitchen. "What are you doing?"
"What?"
"Why are you cleaning?"
He shrugged. "I don't know." Kaoru shook her head and grabbed his hand.
"Come on, let's go explore Kyoto." And with that, she dragged the struggling redhead out of the kitchen.
