--This story was co-written with my sister, Rosemary, whom you may contact at gohorses@yahoo.com.
--The story idea itself belongs to her, though I contributed to adding details to them. I was
--also the one who wrote the story, while she only made decisions. As a result, neither she nor
--I actually own Rurouni Kenshin. Heck, we don't even own Tsuyosa because we protray him along
--the elusive lines of Kaoru's father. We're not sure Tsuyosa is his real name even, but it's
--Japanese for strong and we thought it sounded pretty, so we decided to use it. Apoligies for
--any Out of Charactor you see, though we tried greatly to keep them out of that rut. Heck, we
--don't know how Tokio is supposed to act eithor, so we're not too sure about her . . .
--One final word: This story is slightly crossed over with Ranma 1/2. You don't need to be familar
--with it to be left in the dark, since I believe I explained everything in the story. However,
--it might be helpful for any inside jokes/puns I felt like tossing in. ^_^ C&C is ever so welcome.
--Please do not take and distribute this anywhere without my permission (dalimata@yahoo.com), or
--even run off with the idea. Thankyouverymuchos!
Soujirou trudged through the streets of Tokyo with Tsuyosa, calmly weaving a pathway through
the scores of people who stood before them in the busy market place. So it came as quite a
surprise to them when the wall they were hugging exploded behind them. Both men whirled around
to look at it, falling into fighting stances as the crowds of people began to yell, scream, and
push themselves away from the spot.
A young girl with long purple tresses leapt through it. She skidded to a halt before Tsuyosa.
Her glare quickly turned into a smile of joy. "Airen!*" she cried, leaping for him.
"Oh no! Not you again!" Tsuyosa turned heel and bolted out of the girl's reach, disappearing
in the panicking crowds of people. Soujirou stared after him in disbelief, wondering if it were
at all possible to limp that fast.
He shrugged, deciding it was none of his business. He turned to look at the hole, wondering if
he should remove himself from the premises in case someone blamed this mess on him, and noticed
a tiny old woman bouncing through it on a walking stick. She disappeared after the retreating
figures.
Soujirou blinked. Then smiled. And continued on his way.
After many twists and turns down unrecognizable streets, he finally asked a darkly beautiful
young woman (who strangely reminded him of a fox) directions to his cousin's place. He found it
after some more stumbling around, and now stood at the gate doors of her property.
A cold dread descended upon him. What if his cousin couldn't remember him? He knew his heart
would break if he stood before her, seeing a blank look upon her face and hearing her say, "Who?"
On the other hand, what if she did remember him, and he never stopped by? In the end, what would
hurt him more?
Soujirou debated with himself long and hard, trying to contemplate as to what he would do.
Maybe it was just better if he let her forget him. She would ask him what had happened to him in
the past ten years, and if he stuttered and wouldn't say a thing, she would know he was trying
to hide something. What if she knew already knew he worked for Shishio?
Soujirou's heart stopped in his chest for a moment. What if she was to find out he had killed
his own family? How would she feel? Soujirou imagined the look on her face, and felt his heart
thud in sympathy. No, it would be better to leave, he finally decided. He would not run the risk
of hurting his cousin like that. Soujirou turned away from the gates and tripped over an
inconveniently placed trunk.
"Oh my!" Small hands reached down and helped him to his feet. He turned around and glanced
down to see a tiny woman with porcelain skin and black hair gazing up at him with concern. "Are
you all right?" she asked. "I told the couch man not to set my things right down there behind
you, but you couldn't hear me calling you in warning." She patted the front of his gi off in a
motherly fashion and smiled.
Soujirou stared in shock.
When she smiled, the black wisps of hair surrounding her face drifted and rested directly
against her cheeks. Her eyes sparkled with an inner mirth, and her mouth was drawn into a thin
line, contrasting directly with the eyes.
It was a face Soujirou could never forget. "Aunt To-san?" he whispered in surprise. Shock
swept her features as her eyes snapped wide at the childhood nickname. She gazed up at Soujirou's
face.
"Do I know you?" she asked after a few moments. Soujirou's heart fell. Not even his mother's
sister could remember him. He laughed nervously and took a step back.
"No, I've mistaken you for someone else," he said, backing away and trying to run off. He
stopped when a strong grip grabbed the back of his gi. He looked over to see the woman with a
determined look upon her face.
"No you didn't," she replied. She hugged the back of Soujirou. "I'm glad to see you are well,
Souji-chan," she whispered into the material of his shirt.
"You remember me?" She looked up and gave him a brilliant smile, which he gladly returned.
"Of course I do! How could I forget Yumi's son?" She stood upon tiptoes so she could kiss his
forehead. "I've missed you." She gave him a concerned look. "What happened?" she asked. "Where
have you been for the past eleven years? And what happened to your family? Do you know they are
all dead? Why are you here?"
Soujirou felt a wave of panic. Now, if he could come up with a somewhat plausible lie, then he
would be able to get away with his past. Best to distract her from that subject. "I came to see
Kaoru," he said finally. He paused, but was urged on with a patient smile from his aunt. "But I
don't know if she would remember me."
"Oh? Is that all?" She laughed lightly, gesturing at her trunk and carpetbag. "Don't worry,
she should. If she doesn't, then I'll just make her. Now be a dear and grab my trunk and bring
it inside," she added as she stooped to pick her carpetbag up. Soujirou wondered at the
implications her voice held, but dropped it. What Aunt Tokio wanted, she almost always got.
He grabbed one ring on the side of the trunk, then the other ring, and lifted.
He collapsed under its heavy weight. Tokio opened the door and held it there, waiting for him.
Soujirou decided to grab one ring and then tug it after his aunt. She gave him an impatient look
as he stumbled by her, pulling the trunk behind him.
It felt like she had put bricks in here! That was when he remembered her infatuation for potty
and little clay figurines she collected like a madman.
"Really, it isn't that heavy." Soujirou merely grunted as his aunt quickly swept by him. She
skipped up to the door and slid it open. "Kaoru! Kaoru dear! Hello?" She tossed her sandals off
into a corner where others were piled.
There was a horrible clattering sound from one of the rooms and Kaoru hurried out of it, her
face flushed a deep red. "Ahhahahaha!" she laughed nervously, one hand behind her head. She shot
a quick glance over her shoulder, and then roughly pushed Tokio out the door. "Aunt To-san!
Quick!" Kaoru grabbed her hand, planted a hasty peck on the cheek, and then slid the door shut.
"I'm making a surprise dinner for you and it's not quite ready yet!" Her voice, muffled, drifted
from the other side.
Kaoru pushed a heavy set of drawers Tae gave her in front of the door, jimmying it. "That
should keep her," she whispered to herself. She hurried back to the room she had come out of
earlier. She skidded to a halt and glared at Kenshin and Yahiko. "She's here already!" she
hissed angrily at them. "And that hole in the wall still hasn't been repaired yet! Will you two
hurry up?"
Yahiko glared at her from beneath the pile of boards that had collapsed on him only moments
ago. Kaoru gave them a pained expression, her large eyes welling up with tears.
"And now I must cook dinner too!" she wailed in sorrow.
"But Kaoru-dono," Kenshin began patiently, "do you really think you should do that to your
aunt de gazaro?" Kaoru rounded dangerously upon him.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded angrily.
Kenshin wilted. "Nothing Kaoru-dono," he whispered.
Yahiko struggled his way out of the pile of boards. He glared upward at Kaoru. "Oh yeah?" he
demanded hotly. "I don't think Mister Saitou Hajime will be too appreciative when he learns you
poisoned his wi—" Yahiko's words were cut off abruptly when Kaoru kicked him in the teeth,
sending him back into the pile of boards.
"Oh yeah?" she demanded. "Just you wait! I'll make a dinner for my aunt like no one has ever
seen! HAHAHAHA!!!" And with that last ominous sound, she left them to their work. Yahiko gulped
audibly while Kenshin gave him a pained look. Yahiko tried to change the subject.
"Well, I don't see why we have to be the ones to finally repair the hole in the wall Saitou
and Sanosuke were the ones to make!" he grumbled. Kenshin merely shrugged and went back to
pounding nails.
"That's funny," Tokio said as she heard Kaoru scoot something heavy to the side of the door.
"I thought the kitchen was in the other side of the house. Maybe she was getting something
needed from the room," she decided finally.
"Huh?" Soujirou finally managed to drag the trunk up to the steps. He collapsed exhausted on
top of it, breathing heavily.
"Oh, Kaoru is making me a special dinner."
Soujirou went pale. Even at the age of seven, his cousin had been a terror with cooking food.
"Did her father teach her how to cook?" he ventured to ask. When Tokio nodded in reply, he
shuddered. The first—and only—time he had ever eaten anything cooked by his uncle Tsuyosa was
the time when he, his mother, and his aunt had all just arrived at the dojo and it was late at
night. He had cooked up a disaster he claimed that was dinner. Out of courtesy, his mother and
he (although forced) had eaten the dinner, while Tokio chewed Tsuyosa out—come to think of it,
Tsuyosa looked as if all her words were going in one ear and out the other.
Soujirou decided to look on the bright side. "Well," he said, "maybe she's improved over the
past few years."
Minutes later, smoke billowed out of the nearby kitchen windows.
Sanosuke's stomach grumbled loudly as he walked down the empty streets. He made a face as he
pressed his hands against it, trying to still the noise. It growled again, placing Sanosuke in a
foul mood.
Or it would have been, if he had not already been feeling mad because of a terrified old man
knocking him over in his haste to escape a purple-haired girl yelling, "Airen! Wa no ai!**"
followed by a shriveled up prune of an old woman who bounced off his head with a walking stick.
Sanosuke stopped at the Kamiya Dojo. He noted the smoke drifting above the kitchen area. "Uh
oh," he thought to himself with a touch of panic. He turned and began to scurry down the streets
with as much dignity as he could retain. "I wonder what Megumi's making for dinner . . ."
There were many times in the life of Kaoru when she had been rudely (and politely) told that
her cooking was toxic and very liable to kill someone some day. Perhaps there were truth in
those very words.
But in the very same dojo yard that Sanosuke almost entered, sitting on Toki's trunk in plain
view of the world and in a fairly good mood at that, was a young man. This young man was special
in a way, for Sanosuke could very well try to kill him upon sight.
And so, for the first—and probably last—time, Kaoru's cooking actually saved a life.
Someone else, not too far from the dojo, spotted the smoke rising too. "Oh joy!" he called out,
but not too loudly for he had just lost the two annoying woman who had been chasing him earlier.
"My sweet is cooking! Hmmm! I haven't had any decent cooking for such a long while! It'll be just
like old times!"
*Means Husband in the Chinese dialect the Chinese Amazons speak (not sure if it is Catonese or
Mandarin . . .)
**Translates as, "Husband, I love you!"
--The story idea itself belongs to her, though I contributed to adding details to them. I was
--also the one who wrote the story, while she only made decisions. As a result, neither she nor
--I actually own Rurouni Kenshin. Heck, we don't even own Tsuyosa because we protray him along
--the elusive lines of Kaoru's father. We're not sure Tsuyosa is his real name even, but it's
--Japanese for strong and we thought it sounded pretty, so we decided to use it. Apoligies for
--any Out of Charactor you see, though we tried greatly to keep them out of that rut. Heck, we
--don't know how Tokio is supposed to act eithor, so we're not too sure about her . . .
--One final word: This story is slightly crossed over with Ranma 1/2. You don't need to be familar
--with it to be left in the dark, since I believe I explained everything in the story. However,
--it might be helpful for any inside jokes/puns I felt like tossing in. ^_^ C&C is ever so welcome.
--Please do not take and distribute this anywhere without my permission (dalimata@yahoo.com), or
--even run off with the idea. Thankyouverymuchos!
Soujirou trudged through the streets of Tokyo with Tsuyosa, calmly weaving a pathway through
the scores of people who stood before them in the busy market place. So it came as quite a
surprise to them when the wall they were hugging exploded behind them. Both men whirled around
to look at it, falling into fighting stances as the crowds of people began to yell, scream, and
push themselves away from the spot.
A young girl with long purple tresses leapt through it. She skidded to a halt before Tsuyosa.
Her glare quickly turned into a smile of joy. "Airen!*" she cried, leaping for him.
"Oh no! Not you again!" Tsuyosa turned heel and bolted out of the girl's reach, disappearing
in the panicking crowds of people. Soujirou stared after him in disbelief, wondering if it were
at all possible to limp that fast.
He shrugged, deciding it was none of his business. He turned to look at the hole, wondering if
he should remove himself from the premises in case someone blamed this mess on him, and noticed
a tiny old woman bouncing through it on a walking stick. She disappeared after the retreating
figures.
Soujirou blinked. Then smiled. And continued on his way.
After many twists and turns down unrecognizable streets, he finally asked a darkly beautiful
young woman (who strangely reminded him of a fox) directions to his cousin's place. He found it
after some more stumbling around, and now stood at the gate doors of her property.
A cold dread descended upon him. What if his cousin couldn't remember him? He knew his heart
would break if he stood before her, seeing a blank look upon her face and hearing her say, "Who?"
On the other hand, what if she did remember him, and he never stopped by? In the end, what would
hurt him more?
Soujirou debated with himself long and hard, trying to contemplate as to what he would do.
Maybe it was just better if he let her forget him. She would ask him what had happened to him in
the past ten years, and if he stuttered and wouldn't say a thing, she would know he was trying
to hide something. What if she knew already knew he worked for Shishio?
Soujirou's heart stopped in his chest for a moment. What if she was to find out he had killed
his own family? How would she feel? Soujirou imagined the look on her face, and felt his heart
thud in sympathy. No, it would be better to leave, he finally decided. He would not run the risk
of hurting his cousin like that. Soujirou turned away from the gates and tripped over an
inconveniently placed trunk.
"Oh my!" Small hands reached down and helped him to his feet. He turned around and glanced
down to see a tiny woman with porcelain skin and black hair gazing up at him with concern. "Are
you all right?" she asked. "I told the couch man not to set my things right down there behind
you, but you couldn't hear me calling you in warning." She patted the front of his gi off in a
motherly fashion and smiled.
Soujirou stared in shock.
When she smiled, the black wisps of hair surrounding her face drifted and rested directly
against her cheeks. Her eyes sparkled with an inner mirth, and her mouth was drawn into a thin
line, contrasting directly with the eyes.
It was a face Soujirou could never forget. "Aunt To-san?" he whispered in surprise. Shock
swept her features as her eyes snapped wide at the childhood nickname. She gazed up at Soujirou's
face.
"Do I know you?" she asked after a few moments. Soujirou's heart fell. Not even his mother's
sister could remember him. He laughed nervously and took a step back.
"No, I've mistaken you for someone else," he said, backing away and trying to run off. He
stopped when a strong grip grabbed the back of his gi. He looked over to see the woman with a
determined look upon her face.
"No you didn't," she replied. She hugged the back of Soujirou. "I'm glad to see you are well,
Souji-chan," she whispered into the material of his shirt.
"You remember me?" She looked up and gave him a brilliant smile, which he gladly returned.
"Of course I do! How could I forget Yumi's son?" She stood upon tiptoes so she could kiss his
forehead. "I've missed you." She gave him a concerned look. "What happened?" she asked. "Where
have you been for the past eleven years? And what happened to your family? Do you know they are
all dead? Why are you here?"
Soujirou felt a wave of panic. Now, if he could come up with a somewhat plausible lie, then he
would be able to get away with his past. Best to distract her from that subject. "I came to see
Kaoru," he said finally. He paused, but was urged on with a patient smile from his aunt. "But I
don't know if she would remember me."
"Oh? Is that all?" She laughed lightly, gesturing at her trunk and carpetbag. "Don't worry,
she should. If she doesn't, then I'll just make her. Now be a dear and grab my trunk and bring
it inside," she added as she stooped to pick her carpetbag up. Soujirou wondered at the
implications her voice held, but dropped it. What Aunt Tokio wanted, she almost always got.
He grabbed one ring on the side of the trunk, then the other ring, and lifted.
He collapsed under its heavy weight. Tokio opened the door and held it there, waiting for him.
Soujirou decided to grab one ring and then tug it after his aunt. She gave him an impatient look
as he stumbled by her, pulling the trunk behind him.
It felt like she had put bricks in here! That was when he remembered her infatuation for potty
and little clay figurines she collected like a madman.
"Really, it isn't that heavy." Soujirou merely grunted as his aunt quickly swept by him. She
skipped up to the door and slid it open. "Kaoru! Kaoru dear! Hello?" She tossed her sandals off
into a corner where others were piled.
There was a horrible clattering sound from one of the rooms and Kaoru hurried out of it, her
face flushed a deep red. "Ahhahahaha!" she laughed nervously, one hand behind her head. She shot
a quick glance over her shoulder, and then roughly pushed Tokio out the door. "Aunt To-san!
Quick!" Kaoru grabbed her hand, planted a hasty peck on the cheek, and then slid the door shut.
"I'm making a surprise dinner for you and it's not quite ready yet!" Her voice, muffled, drifted
from the other side.
Kaoru pushed a heavy set of drawers Tae gave her in front of the door, jimmying it. "That
should keep her," she whispered to herself. She hurried back to the room she had come out of
earlier. She skidded to a halt and glared at Kenshin and Yahiko. "She's here already!" she
hissed angrily at them. "And that hole in the wall still hasn't been repaired yet! Will you two
hurry up?"
Yahiko glared at her from beneath the pile of boards that had collapsed on him only moments
ago. Kaoru gave them a pained expression, her large eyes welling up with tears.
"And now I must cook dinner too!" she wailed in sorrow.
"But Kaoru-dono," Kenshin began patiently, "do you really think you should do that to your
aunt de gazaro?" Kaoru rounded dangerously upon him.
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded angrily.
Kenshin wilted. "Nothing Kaoru-dono," he whispered.
Yahiko struggled his way out of the pile of boards. He glared upward at Kaoru. "Oh yeah?" he
demanded hotly. "I don't think Mister Saitou Hajime will be too appreciative when he learns you
poisoned his wi—" Yahiko's words were cut off abruptly when Kaoru kicked him in the teeth,
sending him back into the pile of boards.
"Oh yeah?" she demanded. "Just you wait! I'll make a dinner for my aunt like no one has ever
seen! HAHAHAHA!!!" And with that last ominous sound, she left them to their work. Yahiko gulped
audibly while Kenshin gave him a pained look. Yahiko tried to change the subject.
"Well, I don't see why we have to be the ones to finally repair the hole in the wall Saitou
and Sanosuke were the ones to make!" he grumbled. Kenshin merely shrugged and went back to
pounding nails.
"That's funny," Tokio said as she heard Kaoru scoot something heavy to the side of the door.
"I thought the kitchen was in the other side of the house. Maybe she was getting something
needed from the room," she decided finally.
"Huh?" Soujirou finally managed to drag the trunk up to the steps. He collapsed exhausted on
top of it, breathing heavily.
"Oh, Kaoru is making me a special dinner."
Soujirou went pale. Even at the age of seven, his cousin had been a terror with cooking food.
"Did her father teach her how to cook?" he ventured to ask. When Tokio nodded in reply, he
shuddered. The first—and only—time he had ever eaten anything cooked by his uncle Tsuyosa was
the time when he, his mother, and his aunt had all just arrived at the dojo and it was late at
night. He had cooked up a disaster he claimed that was dinner. Out of courtesy, his mother and
he (although forced) had eaten the dinner, while Tokio chewed Tsuyosa out—come to think of it,
Tsuyosa looked as if all her words were going in one ear and out the other.
Soujirou decided to look on the bright side. "Well," he said, "maybe she's improved over the
past few years."
Minutes later, smoke billowed out of the nearby kitchen windows.
Sanosuke's stomach grumbled loudly as he walked down the empty streets. He made a face as he
pressed his hands against it, trying to still the noise. It growled again, placing Sanosuke in a
foul mood.
Or it would have been, if he had not already been feeling mad because of a terrified old man
knocking him over in his haste to escape a purple-haired girl yelling, "Airen! Wa no ai!**"
followed by a shriveled up prune of an old woman who bounced off his head with a walking stick.
Sanosuke stopped at the Kamiya Dojo. He noted the smoke drifting above the kitchen area. "Uh
oh," he thought to himself with a touch of panic. He turned and began to scurry down the streets
with as much dignity as he could retain. "I wonder what Megumi's making for dinner . . ."
There were many times in the life of Kaoru when she had been rudely (and politely) told that
her cooking was toxic and very liable to kill someone some day. Perhaps there were truth in
those very words.
But in the very same dojo yard that Sanosuke almost entered, sitting on Toki's trunk in plain
view of the world and in a fairly good mood at that, was a young man. This young man was special
in a way, for Sanosuke could very well try to kill him upon sight.
And so, for the first—and probably last—time, Kaoru's cooking actually saved a life.
Someone else, not too far from the dojo, spotted the smoke rising too. "Oh joy!" he called out,
but not too loudly for he had just lost the two annoying woman who had been chasing him earlier.
"My sweet is cooking! Hmmm! I haven't had any decent cooking for such a long while! It'll be just
like old times!"
*Means Husband in the Chinese dialect the Chinese Amazons speak (not sure if it is Catonese or
Mandarin . . .)
**Translates as, "Husband, I love you!"