Souls
By Mizuki
Tea
"Would… would you care for some tea?"
The question was asked as a distraction, aiming to dispel the awkward silence that had descended between them. Katie had no idea how long she'd held him as he cried, but eventually his tears had subsided and having disentangled himself from her arms, he'd silently moved to sit cross-legged on the floor, some distance away from her, his back against the wall.
"Yes, please."
His voice was hoarse and quiet. Katie contemplated his bowed head for a short moment and then shot to her feet.
"Right! So, do you have a preference? I have all kinds of tea; you could say I'm a tea-freak. Juan likes to make fun of me, because he can't understand how I can like tea better than coffee. But that stuff is vile! Besides, being Japanese in my previous life there is NO way I could choose coffee over tea! Anyway, what would you like? I have all types: Oolong, Pu-erh – "
"Plain green is fine, Kaoru-dono."
"Oh… Right, great!" She walked to the back of the room and fumbled a bit with the electric kettle that stood on one of the shelves. Thank God there's enough water, she thought, going outside to fetch some right now would have been a bear…
She wasn't sure exactly what to think about what had happened. She'd known he would blame himself for her death, but she'd never imagined it would be so painful for him. The worst thing was, she had absolutely no idea how to make it better. Telling him her true feelings about the issue would probably only cause his twisted sense of logic to send him back into the deepest pit of despair.
And Kenshin in despair was a scary sight. In her memories he'd always been 'the strongest,' the more mature one and the one who always had his emotions firmly under control. She'd known even then that it was only a façade, that deep down he was just as vulnerable as the rest of them, probably even more so… But she'd never actually seen him show it. And now… Cradling him as he cried she'd realized that in this lifetime it was she who was supposed to have the answers.
She was the only one who could actually help him.
And it was really humbling, because she didn't know how to go about it.
"Kaoru-dono…?"
"Hmm?" she asked, a bit distracted. "What is it?"
"Would you tell me about your life?"
She blinked and turned around to look at him. "About my life, Kenshin?"
"Yes. This one would like to know more about Kaoru-dono, in this life…"
"Ah! Well, what would you like to know?"
"Anything… everything…"
She chuckled. "Well, it's not really easy to talk about your own life, there's so much to tell, you know…" She turned back to the shelf and started rummaging through her box of teas. "I don't know where to start…"
"At the beginning, please."
Laughing, she glanced over her shoulder. "You want my whole life story?" She was taken aback by the seriousness of his gaze.
"If it's not too much trouble…"
"No…" she said quietly, all traces of amusement gone. "No, it's all right."
She took a moment to gather her thoughts, and then launched into a very chaotic but basic recounting of her life. She talked briefly of her childhood and of climbing trees and running about with the neighborhood boys.
"We'd sometimes role-play sword-fights from Star Wars," she said with a smirk. "I always won."
She spoke at length about her Dad's garage and how she would often make a nuisance of herself as he and his co-workers went about fixing other people's cars. Her mother would always come around and drag her, dress filthy with oil stains and mind filled with overheard cuss-words, back to their little one-story house, where she would try – in vain, of course – to teach her how to behave like a proper lady.
"You can imagine how well that turned out. I've always been a tomboy and I'm proud of it, but my parents despaired. Well, my Dad more so than my Mom, because he'd always wanted a sweet little girl with blonde ringlets. He got a loudmouthed, tree-climbing little monster instead. And then one day in sixth grade I went and told them I wanted to learn kenjutsu again."
"Again?"
"Yes. Again. You see, when I was a child I already knew all about reincarnation. I was all into fairy-tales and magic and I had this friend at school whose older brother was going through a Buddhist phase, so when I heard about the idea of reincarnation, it matched up with my dreams and I held on to it. My parents thought it was cute at first, like an imaginary friend or something, but then they began to worry… So you can imagine how well they reacted to my ambition to re-learn kenjutsu."
Still talking, she took the two cups of steaming tea and walked over to sit next to him against the wall.
"Thank you," he said, accepting one of them. "But you did eventually start your training, didn't you?"
"Yep. But it took me two years to convince my parents and I had to promise I would also start ballroom dancing."
He actually choked on the tea. "B-ballroom dancing?"
She shot him a withering glare. "You think I couldn't do it, don't you?"
"Oro!" His expression was beyond comical. "N-no, Kaoru-dono, this unworthy one – "
"Save it," she huffed. "I'll have you know that I can do a decent waltz and a mean foxtrot. "
"I'm sure..."
"Does the name 'Rose of Kenjutsu' ring any bells?" she snapped, offended. "Who's to say I can't be the 'Rose of the Ballroom' as well?
"Anyway, I trained like a maniac and quickly became really good… So my sensei started sending me out to competitions. On one of those I met - " she faltered, a bit flustered. It was probably not the time and place for this particular story, but... "At one of those tournaments I met Ross, my – my friend."
"Ross?"
"Yeah. He's the owner of the dojo where I work part-time. Well, I actually co-own it, but my shares are smaller than his."
"Ah." He nodded, face impassive.
Kaoru thought she managed to spy a small twitch around his mouth. Curious.
"What?" she prompted, raising an eyebrow.
"Ah, nothing, Kaoru-dono…"
"It's obviously something. Just tell me."
"It's really nothing. But I'm wondering, how did you become a high-school teacher?"
She sighed. This really wasn't the best time to explain it. "You know, my voice is getting kind of hoarse… I think it's your turn to speak."
"Oro?"
"Don't 'oro' me, Kenshin," she said sternly. "You've asked me for my life story, and it's only fair that you share some of yours as well."
She saw his boyish features twist into a grimace of unease, before clearing back into the sheepish smile.
"But, Kaoru-dono, this unworthy one's life is not as interesting as yours…"
She shot him a glare. "I told you to stop it, didn't I? Besides, I'll be the one to judge what interests me and I want to hear about your family. Do you have any brothers and sisters? What kind of people are your parents? Tell me."
To her surprise, instead of the resigned, good-natured acquiescence she'd expected, she got a serious stare.
"Kaoru-dono," he said slowly. "Thank you for reminding me. I have a question and I want you to answer it truthfully."
She blinked. "What is it?"
"Why was my father in your office?"
And as she stared at him in shock she realized that there would be no time for her to prepare a sensible list of arguments…
Well, she thought after a moment, her lips spreading into a smirk.
There was always bullying.
A/N: So, how did you like a glimpse of Kaoru as Katie?:D
Thanks to J Luc Pitard for wonderful suggestions and the 'Rose of the Ballroom' idea :P
Next one on Saturday, I hope :P
Thanks for reviews go to brit02, skenshingumi, Emi Violet, J Luc Pitard, Memorie, SRAS9, caithzadz, Kyla and Pinay Tiger :D