The comb running through her hair was a welcome
distraction, the simple motion unbeleivably soothing. She concentrated
on her arms, using their work to stave off the shivers that still threatened.
Kaoru counted the strokes, like it was a kendo exercise, tried to make
each one exactly like the last, focused on the feel of muscles tightening
and relaxing.
When she opened her eyes, her voice was nearly
a whisper, her count was in the thousands, and her hair was completely
dry. And her feet were asleep. She stood slowly, wincing as
her feet tingled as they woke. Picking up a ribbon, she tied her
hair back as she rotated her ankles and waited for the pins-and-needles
sensation to go away. As soon as she could walk without wincing,
Kaoru changed to her kendo giand went out. The laundry wasn't hung
in the yard, the dojo was quiet, and the smell of food was coming from
the kitchen. She wandered in that direction.
"Konnichiwa, Kaoru-dono. Are you almost
ready for lunch?" Kenshin asked when she paused by the kitchen doorway.
"... Mn. Kenshin, where's Yahiko?"
"He went to the Akabeko when he finished cleaning.
Is there something you needed him to do, de gozaru ka?"
"No. Just wondering. Thank you.
How long will lunch be?"
"Another few minutes."
"Thank you."
"Doo itashimashite(24)."
Lunch was a quiet meal, with Kaoru giving short
replies to Kenshin's few soft-spoken questions. Unconmfortable alone
with him, she finished eating quickly, not even noticing the unusually
large portions that he'd given to her. As soon as she'd cleared her
dishes she excused herself to the dojo. I can't believe
I'm still cold! Some practice will warm me up.>> Taking a shinai
from the racks, she positioned herself in the middle of the floor.
She spent a minute to find her balance. No.
I am not dizzy>> she reminded herself firmly. Ruthlessly,
she threw herself into a mid-length kata that she hadn't practiced in two
weeks. Before she was halfway through it, she was hot and sweaty
and the floor seemed to want to come outr
from under her feet. I
am not dizzy. I can finish this.>>
Only she couldn't. The last turn was too
forceful; she lost her balance. Shaking hands dropped the shinai
as she dropped clumsily to the floor. Her breath was coming in pants
and gasps and blacknes threatened to overwhelm her vision. As carefuly
as she could, she laid down fully on the wood floor. Blinking rapidly,
Kaoru focused on ther lungs, forced them to take slower, deep breaths.
Before too long both her vision and breathing were back to normal.
And she was cold again.
I hope the furo's still warm,>> she thought
wearily as she pushed to her feet. I'm so tired of this—then
will it stop?>> Replacing the shinai in the rack, she started heading
back toward the bath house.
_/^\v/O\v/^\_
Wary blue eyes watched Kaoru exit the dojo.
She's headed to take another bath. It''s a good thing I put more
wood on the fire or it would be too cold for a bath to be healthy by now.>>
When her slow, deliberate steps made her disappear
into the small building, Kenshin left his self-assigned post. Sure,
swift, and silent, his footsteps carried him quickly through the house.
If he had spent the time to think it, the ease with which the stealth he
had used as a hitokiri returened to him would have been some cause for
distress. As things stood, he barely noticed.
He collected a dry yukata from Kaoru's room and
followed her path to the bath house. At the door, he stopped and
knocked. "Kaoru-dono?" He heard the splashing of water inside
still, but no response came. His eyes narrowed slightly. She
grows more and more silent towards me. Why won't you tell me what's
wrong?>> Carefully, he kept both his worry and his frustration from
his voice. "Kaoru-dono; I brought a yukata for you. I'm leaving
it by the door."
Still, there was no answer.
With an inaudible sigh, Kenshin set the folded
garment on the floor and turned to go back to the main house. He
re-entered the kitchen and took out some vegetables for slicing.
The counter was by the window, so his position would allow him to perform
both tasks of watching for Kaoru's emergence and beginning to prepare supper.
Even if the young woman displayed virtually no appetite, Yahiko should
be back in just a few hours and would undoubtedly complain that he was
starving. A wistful smile unknowingly graced the redhead's face.
He
is a growing boy, after all. It should only be
expected that he have a good appetite. Now, if we can just get Kaoru-dono
to regain her old one....>> The smile vanished back into his coolly
calm mask. A few minutes later, the vegetables went into the pickling
jar and he checked to make sure there were still a few fish in the kitchen.
Hmm. Only two fish. It's a food thing we still have
some tofu. I'll have to go shopping in the morning.>>
"Tadaima!" Yahiko's voice came from the front
of the house.
"Okaeri," Kenshin responded. A minute later,
the boy was standing in the kitchen doorway. He inhaled deeply.
"Mm. Smells good. If that deosn't
make Kaoru hungry, I don't know what will." Yahiko saved Kenshin
from having to reply by asking "Where is she, anyway?"
"The bath."
"Again? She's gonna turn into a fish if
she keeps taking this many."
"Don't let her hear you say that." The boy
rolled his eyes. "Why are you home so early?"
"Lunch was slow, so Tae-san figured tonight would
be too. She and Tsubame-chan should be able to handle it."
"Ah." Movement caught Kenshin's eye.
He glanced out the window. "She's out. The water should still
be warm if you want a bath."
"Arigatou." Yahiko removed himself fom Kenshin's
undisputed territory. Blue eyes watched him go down the corridor.
When his and Kaoru's paths crossed Kenshin saw a bit of her old spark as
she ordered him to the dojo.
Better. Slowly better.>>
To Be
Continued
Please,
Review!!! Onegai shimasu!
_/^\v/^\v/^\v/O\v/^\v/^\v/^\_
Oi, this took forever! Y'know, I
figured I'd have this chapter out midway through January? Well, I
hope it was worth the wait, and I hope chapter 7 doesn't take as long.
^_^; R&R, please!
If you're still wondering what the title
means, I can give you the translations of the individual words, but I'm
pretty sure it doesn't actually make sense.
tatsu - dragon
rokujou - the six emotions of joy, anger,
sorrow, pleasure & love, and hatred
(23) Sprirts, God
(24) You're welcome.
