"Where
have you been? We almost went to get you!" yelled the boy, bamboo sword
behind his back.
Panting,
she allowed herself to catch her breath. She rested her hands on her knees.
"Kaoru-dono?"
She
raised her head. The eyes of the cross-scarred man looked at her with query and
worry.
"I'm
. . . sorry... I'm late," she uttered as she stood erect and wiped her
brow of perspiration.
"Dinner's
ready, we can eat," he said. His tone was happy, and not a hint of
disappointment was behind it. She was somewhat relieved of this.
They ate
as the boy told them stories of amusing customers he had encountered when he
helped at the Akabeko restaurant that day. The samurai's eyes stole occasional
glances at Kaoru, her giggles ringing warm in his ears. She was not as talkative
as usual, but her laughter gave him no cause for concern. Another gaze at her
eyes told him of some unknown purpose, as if she had found something of value.
"I'll
prepare the bath for you, Kaoru-dono," he said as he gathered the used
bowls and chopsticks.
"Thank
you, Kenshin."
After
washing herself, she sank into the warm bath and let out a sigh. She may be an
instructor, but she learned so much from the sweet old grandmother she felt she
was now the student.
'I can
do it. I will do my best.'
Kaoru became
both instructor and student from then, teaching sword skills to the young boys
and learning culinary arts from Grandmother Yamazaki. She started an hour
earlier to coach Shintaro on his exercises upon the old woman's bidding so as
not to be late for dinner again.
This
schedule went on for several weeks until the old woman was content enough of
Kaoru's skill to stop instruction. She then turned her attention to manners of
dress. The old woman had graciously given her a few kimonos that she couldn't
wear anymore because of her age and figure. After insistent persuasion, she
accepted the elegant gifts.
"This
is quite fun, Kaoru-chan. All I've had were sons. They weren't much fun with
dress-up! Now, let's teach you poise and posture."
By the
end of an hour, Kaoru had exchanged her boyish stances and paraded elegant ones
in front of Grandmother Yamazaki. Satisfied, she sent her home along with the
kimonos carefully packaged.
'Time
changes everything . . . I can change with time.'
She found
the redheaded samurai waiting for her on the porch. Smiling demurely, she
thought to practice her newly learned lesson.
"I'm
home," she said. She looked into his eyes for a brief moment, as if she
tried to find something that had dropped into an abyss. Startled at the weight
of her stare, his heart skipped a beat and his cheeks began to betray him.
"Wel...
welcome home," he stuttered.
She broke
the tension with a demure smile. As the old lady had taught her, she glided
across the yard with the grace of a swan on water. Awed at her movements, he
was dumbfounded with his eyes on her, mouth slightly gaping. His gaze followed
her until she disappeared to turn the corner of the house.
Kaoru
headed to the bathroom with a change of clothes. As she turned the corner, she
nearly collided with the gentle redhead, cheeks flushed.
"Ah
. . . Kaoru-dono . . . I apologize if I was staring at you earlier."
"Oh,
I didn't notice. No harm done. Thank you for preparing the bath."
Morning
came and she opened her eyes with hesitation. Teaching and learning had been quite a strain on her, yet the lessons
she learned were worth her endeavors. Calling to mind the reaction elicited from the blushing samurai last
night, she was filled with excitement as she pushed the covers off, got up and
took the wrapped kimonos out of their packaging. Which should she wear today? The kimonos were utterly magnificent, made from the finest silk she had
ever laid her fingers on. People are
bound to be suspicious as to why she would wear such elegant clothing. Pausing for a moment to find a purpose, she
made her decision to practice.
She
stepped out of her room and walked silently to the boy's room. She could hear his mumbling and snoring
through the sliding door. As strict as
she was about practice, she felt pity for him for the many hours he worked at
the Akabeko last night. There had been
a wedding reception with what seemed like a hundred guests, or so the boy said,
and upon arriving home from the restaurant, she and the swordsman found him
sound asleep a few feet away from the doorstep.
Still in
her practice clothes, she went to the kitchen where the humming swordsman was
diligently making breakfast. This
particular habit of Kenshin always made her calm, and she wondered why he never
revealed this habit of his when the boy was up and about.
"Good
morning, Kaoru-dono. Breakfast is
almost ready." He took a tray and put
the bowls of food on it, walking over to the table carefully so as not to spill
a drop of soup. "Where's Yahiko?"
"I didn't
have the heart to wake him. He worked
so hard last night, I thought I'd let him sleep in for today."
"That's
very kind of you," he said as he hummed a few more notes of a song familiar to
Kaoru's ears.
"You're
quite cheery today, Kenshin." Her
compliment made him smile timidly. As
he sat in front of her, she noticed the rice bin uncovered, revealing its
emptiness save for a few grains scattered on the bottom.
"Let's
eat while it's still hot." He waited
for her to take a sip of her soup as always, looking for a sign of approval on
her face. Pleasing her first thing in
the morning always fueled his day.
"It's
really good…" and after biting into a piece of fish and swallowing, "This is
good, too. Kenshin, what can you not
do well?"
Hearing
his hearty laugh, she smiled and took a sip of her tea.
'Complimenting
people for the things they do best draws them to you like the moon pulls on
bodies of water. Men, in particular,
will be drawn to you like sunflowers to the sun.' The dear old woman was right.
"Kenshin,
I've noticed that we are out of rice. Perhaps I should go to the market today."
Putting
his chopsticks down, he interjected, "You don't have to do that,
Kaoru-dono. That's my job."
She
looked at the rice bin once more. Placing another piece of fish into her mouth, she tilted her head in
thought to look at the right corner of the ceiling, her chopsticks suspended
and gently pressing against her closed lips.
This
sight of her pulled at the corners of his mouth and at his very being; this
very moment he wanted to put in memory and play it over and over. 'What is this,' he wondered, 'how
does she do this to me so easily, this feeling I can't even describe…'
"Though I
would be happy if you accompanied me, if you wish."
"What a
good idea…" she said, putting her chopsticks down and ending the swordsman's
reverie. "Would you mind if I stopped
at a few shops?"
"Not at
all. When would you like to go?"
"An hour
from now. Is that all right?"
"Take
your time. I still have to clean the
kitchen."
She stood
and walked to the hallway, only to turn around to say, "You know what,
Kenshin?"
"Yes?"
"You
really know how to get on my good side." And with a stunning smile, she was gone.
He
clutched the sides of his head and shut his eyes. 'God, if I'm asleep, never wake me up.'
Remembering
every instruction of Grandmother Yamazaki, Kaoru arranged her hair nimbly off
her shoulders, placing pins to hold the thick locks in place. She chose the ruby kimono, and after
dressing herself, she felt a pang of nervousness gnawing her insides.
'First
impressions always last. Remember that,
Kaoru-chan.'
"I wonder
if I look impressionable enough…"
She
stepped out to find the redhead samurai in the yard with broom in hand about to
sweep the grounds.
"Shall we
go?" she asked. He looked up, and with
eyes wide open, he unknowingly let the lowered broom slip out of his hand as he
slipped into a waking coma. There it
was again, that strong, paralyzing pull in his chest, sending his pulse racing. 'Beautiful beyond words…'
"Kenshin?"
He could
only stare. Seeing the fallen broom,
she moved towards his direction. He
panicked.
"Wait… I
mean, no, don't come any closer!"
'What
am I saying?'
"Kenshin,
are you all right?"
"I… yes,
I'm fine, it's just that… that if you come over here, you might get dirty…and…
and are you sure you didn't forget anything?"
She stood
astonished, then replied, "Oh yes, I forgot the money. Silly me. I'll be right back."
The instant she turned the corner of the hallway he ran to the well, drew a bucketful of water and submerged his head in the bucket.