"Welcome to the Akabeko restaurant!" A cheerful face greeted Kenshin as he stepped inside a quaint, traditional Japanese restaurant. He blinked, feeling somewhat out of date in his formal, modern business suit in the midst of Meiji-era furnishings and atmosphere.
A teenager, about eleven or twelve years old, ushered him towards one of the stalls inside the restaurant. As he sat down on the worn-out cushion, he appreciated the privacy that the stall afforded because he could hardly see any other customer except of course the ones in the stall opposite his. He also liked the warmth and the coziness of the atmosphere the setup in the restaurant provided, which wasn't lessened by the pleasant and cheerful attitudes of the waitresses there.
"Here's the menu, sir, and a server will be assisting you when you're ready," the girl who ushered him in said. "Make yourself comfortable please!" she added, and smiled so sweetly that Kenshin smiled back in spite of himself.
"Thank you," he said, then glanced over the menu. After getting his order, the girl directly went to a group of other waitresses like her who were standing by for want of other things to do.
Tae Sekihara, the owner of the Akabeko, was amused by the girl's blushing face. "Is there going to be a reason for Yahiko to be jealous?" she said, referring to the restaurant's errand boy.
The girl blushed deeper. "Miss Tae!" she cried out. "Please don't tease me like this."
Tae laughed. "Then why did you come back here all red in the face, Tsubame?" She peeked at the stall where the poor girl came from. "I can't see clearly."
"It's the customer in stall 7," Tsubame admitted shyly. "I rather thought… he was quite handsome, what with his red hair and violet eyes."
Kenshin came into view long enough for them to be able to see him clearly. Tae whistled softly."Yahiko really is going to be jealous for this," she remarked.
"Miss Tae!" Tsubame blushed again.
Tae smiled sympathetically at the girl. "Good looking as he is, he's too old for you, though." She glanced around, and found what she was looking for. "Now she wouldn't. Come here, Kaoru, and take Number 7's order for Tsubame, please."
With his acute hearing, Kenshin inwardly smiled to himself as he mentally prepared to encounter Kaoru on her turf. He chuckled while imagining her various expressions of surprise, horror, or maybe indignation when she finds out he knows where she works. As she approached, he had to wipe his smiles from his face and feign indifference at their first tete-a-tete, but he was also as surprised as she was in the end.
"Here's your order –" Kaoru was startled and made a little jump backwards as she saw Kenshin Himura seated on the cushion and actually glancing up at her expectantly. It was a miracle that the tray with his food remained in her grip.
Kenshin smiled. "I'm impressed, Kaoru," he remarked. "You managed to keep the tray in your hands with that kind of shock on your face."
And he was truly impressed. He was never more amazed at how Kaoru looked. The brown-and-white striped uniform which was fashioned after the traditional kimono, but with the skirt cut short above the knee, looked innocent enough on the teenager, but on Kaoru it looked more fetching. Kaoru's slim figure fitted the kimono to a T, but with her shapely legs displayed at such an advantage, she managed to look demure, yet provocative at the same time.
"Here is your order, sir," Kaoru managed to steady her nerves and her voice. She put down the tray of food. "Enjoy your meal."
"So polite," Kenshin remarked drily as he took his chopsticks from her. "Aren't you surprised I'm here?"
Kaoru smiled slightly. "I thought that was obvious," she replied. "I want to ask you what you're doing here, but I'd rather know after work."
He smiled appreciatively. "Separating business from pleasure, I see."
"This isn't exactly a pleasure, though," she shot back in clipped tones.
"I understand." Kenshin broke apart the chopsticks.
"Would you be needing anything else, sir?" she asked, giving unnecessary, yet pointed emphasis on the honorific.
In reply, Kenshin proceeded to take a bite of his food. "Does Akira visit here often?" he asked, not looking at her.
The question caught Kaoru off guard once again. At the silence, Kenshin looked up. Apprehension followed surprise on her face. "I would really appreciate it if Akira doesn't know about this," she said warily, indicating the restaurant.
He raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"
Kaoru hesitated, debating whether or not to tell him. Caution flew out the window as honesty prevailed. "Actually, he doesn't know about this job," she said. "The one he knows about was the job I left two or three weeks before."
"I see." Kenshin avoided any reply and focused on the taste of the food, which was surprisingly good. He smiled to himself. That isn't fair, he thought. I'm comparing it to that … lunchbox, that's why this is good. But by any standards, he supposed, the food was great. He turned again to Kaoru. "Why doesn't he know about this?"
Kaoru fidgeted with her apron. "I… I don't know, to tell the truth," she said lamely. "Maybe it's because I'm afraid to tell Akira. That last job was his idea," she tried to explain again, "but… I've never really felt comfortable with secretarial duties and the fact that he placed me there."
"I see," Kenshin said again.
"Would there be anything else, Mr. Himura?" Kaoru asked, this time patiently and softly.
"For now," he replied, and as he looked at Kaoru's retreating back, he repeated to himself, for now.
Kaoru Kamiya's job at the Akabeko restaurant was only part-time, thought, as Kenshin had read from her file sent in by the Oniwabanshu. After finishing up at the Akabeko, she goes to a certain bookstore from Monday to Wednesday as a cashier, then Thursday to Saturday she teaches swordsmanship to local kids at a certain run-down dojo.
Swordsmanship! At this time and age! He chuckled. This I've got to see.
That's what he did, one afternoon after escaping the continuous demands of the Nishikawa group. After changing into casual clothes—a nondescript pair of jeans, blue V-necked t-shirt, and a faded, denim jacket—he hailed a cab which drove him to the Kamiya Kasshin dojo, a small secluded spot right in the middle of the slum area.
Exactly why the dojo was in the slum area, Kenshin was mystified, because as the file says, Kaoru lived a middle-class life. At that last thought, he shook his head. Why am I preoccupied with social classes anyway? Have I really changed so much that I've forgotten where I've come from? That was a sobering thought that kept him quiet for the rest of the ride.
After paying the fare and seeing the cab drive off, Kenshin stood in front of a dilapidated building that was truly fashioned in the olden times. The sign that told him he was in the right place showed signs of decay already, not to mention the chinks and cracks in the walls surrounding the dojo. The gate was partially open, and with his slender frame, he was able to slip through.
But while the outside gates showed signs of wearing down, the inside of the dojo was clean and well-kept. The yard was swept clean of the leaves that had started to fall at the onset of autumn. As he walked through the corridors of the dojo itself, he marvelled at the polishing of the aged wood and wondered how it was accomplished.
The sounds of exertion on one side of the dojo drew him at length towards a pair of sliding doors that were slightly open. He peeked inside. There, to his amazement, he saw Kaoru Kamiya holding a wooden sword and in a traditional hakama in front of six or seven kids of varying ages and sizes. He looked down at the slippers fixed neatly outside the doors, then back again at the class. Beads of sweat running down her face, flushed with the exercise, Kaoru had never looked more beautiful indeed.
Kenshin stiffened and checked that thought. He hastily turned away from the sight and instead leaned on the wooden wall.
"Okay, so just practice what we have learned so far, and tomorrow, we'll learn another Kasshin-ryu strike," he finally heard Kaoru say.
"Thank you for the lesson, Kaoru-sensei," the children chorused. There was a bustle, and one by one, the kids reclaimed their slippers and rushed out of the dojo.
Kenshin waited until the last person left the dojo, then stepped in, and nearly made Kaoru choke on the water she was drinking. "Need help in cleaning up?" he said, smiling.
Thanks for all the reviews I've had so far! =) Some of them made me think twice about parts of the story, like Fenris Jin's (I think Kaoru's striking back will have to wait…sorry) and a few guests (the unknown: yep, loathe and hate are the same thing…) so, thanks!
A word on character descriptions: I'm so lousy at describing people… Scenes I can describe, but people, I have a difficulty with. So if you find the description about Kaoru kinda cheesy, I'm with you. =) And I hope I had done justice with what Kaoru really is like in what I'm writing right now, so there.
Read and review please! =)