Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, except for Jade. She is my character, that I made up, and I won't allow anyone to steal her!! She's mine!! Please R&R!!!!! This is my first Kenshin fic, and I would like to know what people think about it!!
"Finished!", Kenshin exclaimed happily as he stood up, stretching. He stared down at the laundry before him, now sparkling clean. He sighed, happy to be done with his chores for today.
"Done already?", Kaoru asked as she ran past Kenshin, chasing Yahiko.
Kenshin smiled at her. "Indeed I am, Miss Kaoru.", he replied.
Kaoru smiled back, then continued her chase after Yahiko. That morning he had again called her 'ugly' and an 'old bat'. Growling, she picked up a wooden practice sword that was lying near the entrance to the dojo, and chased him inside.
Sanoske came up to Kenshin, and watched the two bicker. "Kinda early for this, don't you think?", he asked Kenshin as he shaded his eyes against the bright morning sun.
Kenshin opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by the last person on earth he expected to see.
"Niichan!!", a girlish voice yelled, and suddenly something attached itself to his back. "I've missed you so much! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for a year!"
Kenshin looked down....into the eyes of his little sister.
* * *
"So, who's the brat?", Sanoske asked when Kenshin finally got over the shock of seeing his little sister.
She turned around, and glared at Sanoske. "I am not a brat, old man.", she said. "I am eighteen. And for your information, I am Kenshin's little sister, Jade."
Sanoske stared at her, an amused expression on his face. "And you expect me to believe that? If you're who you say you are, that means that you know the Ultrasonic Sword Technique, also."
Kenshin looked sharply at Sanoske. "She is my little sister, that she is. And she does know my sword technique. We trained together."
Jade smirked at Sanoske, and stuck her tongue out.
Sanoske stared at Kenshin, a look of total disbelief on his face. "What?! Her?! She knows the Ultrasonic Sword Technique!? That slip of a girl?!"
Jade scowled. Everyone always assumed that she was weak, because she was small. After all, her head only came up to Kenshin's eyes. So? She looked younger than her eighteen years. She was used to being taken for for a younger person. Besides her height, she looked very similar to Kenshin. They shared the same bright red hair, except hers was pulled back in a ponytail that the samurai warriors used to wear. Also, their eye color differed. While Kenshin had expressive purple eyes, Jade's eyes were a cold and merciless gray. Kenshin had often commented on how much they resembled the color of storm clouds. He had always said that--until he left for the revolution.
Jade grimaced in remembered pain. She had been left all alone, no one to confide in except for her old and aging sensei.
Kenshin frowned at Sanoske's words. "Sano, I thought that you would've learned by now about judging your enemy on appearance alone. Jade is just as dangerous as me, indeed she is. She may be even more dangerous than me, for she hasn't taken a vow not to kill."
Jade looked at her older brother, flushing in embarrassment. Kenshin had hardly ever commented her when they were training.
But still, Sanoske didn't believe Kenshin. "I still don't see how that brat could be dangerous.", he told Kenshin.
Finally fed up with his insults, Jade turned to Sanoske and said, "If you think that I'm so weak, why don't you challenge me for yourself?"
Sanoske looked at her, scoffing. "I don't challenge girls. Especially babies."
Kenshin winced, feeling sorry for Sanoske. He shouldn't have said that, that is correct., Kenshin thought. For at that moment, Jade moved faster than Sanoske could see. Suddenly, he felt a sharp blade press into his throat. And this sword wasn't a reverse blade sword.
"I am neither a baby nor a brat, old man.", Jade whispered in his ear, her voice as cold as her eyes. "Never underestimate me. I may not look like much, but I have put fear in people's hearts. I can be a cold-blooded killer, just like my brother was. My brother was the Battousei. I was the Tora Tenchi. The Tiger Angel. Never forget that."
And with that, the pressure of the blade let up and she went into the house, following Kenshin and his promise of food.
Sanoske stood there, watching the brother and sister's retreating backs. He rubbed his throat, wincing slightly as he discovered the cut that she had left. Is their whole family made up of killers?, he thought sourly. Then he followed the two siblings, his own stomach making its demands known.
* * *
Yahiko sat at the table, listening to another of Kaoru's lectures on how to behave and how to treat a lady. As she droned on, he was sorely tempted to tell her that she wasn't a lady; and therefore, he could treat her the way he did.
After a moments consideration, he decided not to. Kaoru would just start on one of her other lectures. He sighed, and picked at a loose thread at the hem of his pants. This is boring., he thought. He stared at the table, ignoring his sensei's mindless babble. His stomach growled as he looked at the rice balls they would be having for lunch, and he started to drool.
Right when he was about to snatch up a rice ball, thinking he couldn't take it anymore, Kenshin appeared, proving to be an adequate distraction for Kaoru.
"Kenshin!", she exclaimed, looking up at him. "I was just about to call you in for lunch! I hope you and Sano are hungry."
Kenshin smiled gently at her, and Sanoske quickly followed him into the dojo. "Sano and I are hungry, indeed we are.", he replied. As he glanced behind himself, he said, "But I hope you do not mind one more person."
Kaoru smiled at him. "Oh? Has Doctor Gensei come to visit?", she asked.
Kenshin winced. "Noooo.....", he said, trying to stall for time. Yahiko noticed this and he tried to peek over Kenshin's shoulder, trying to see what (or who) he was all worked up about.
"Well, who is it?", Kaoru asked, her smile wilting slightly. "Is it a stranger?"
Looking uncomfortable, Kenshin said, "Stranger for you, yes. But not for me."
Finally, Yahiko saw who was causing Kenshin and Sano so much grief. He stared into wide, gray eyes that looked so much like Kenshin's. "Who are you?", he asked as his gaze traveled up and down her body, taking note of her curves (or lack of).
Jade blushed, and then scowled. "I could ask the same for you.", was her reply.
Yahiko blinked. "Oh, my name's Yahiko. I'm Kaoru's student."
Looking puzzled, Jade looked up at her brother. "Who's Kaoru, niichan?", she asked as she rubbed the back of her head.
Stepping around Sanoske and Kenshin, Kaoru spotted the small girl. "I'm Kaoru, the assistant master at the Kamiya Dojo." Looking at Kenshin, she asked, "Kenshin, who is this little girl?"
'Little girl'?, Jade thought. "Oro?", she asked, using her brother's favorite saying in her shock. "I am not a 'little girl'! I am Jade. Kenshin's little sister. The Tora Tenchi."
For a moment, Yahiko and Kaoru stared at Jade. Then they burst out laughing. "You?", Yahiko laughed. "You can't be the Tora Tenchi!! The Tora Tenchi is a man!"
"And besides,", Kaoru added, "Kenshin doesn't have a family! How can you be his little sister?!"
Jade hissed in annoyance, and stormed out of the dojo, all thoughts of food forgotten. Kenshin started after her, but Sanoske stopped him. "I'll take care of this.", he told Kenshin. "You do something about Kaoru and Yahiko."
Kenshin nodded, and muttered something that sounded like 'Indeed I will.' Nodding in satisfaction, Sano left, walking out the door and starting after Kenshin's little sister. Or, as he liked to put it: the little hellion.
As he walked away, he could hear Kenshin saying something to Yahiko and Kaoru, and their laughing ceased abruptly. Sanoske smiled to himself, and headed for the pond. It was Kenshin's favorite place at the dojo, and he had a feeling that it would be Jade's too.
And he was correct. He found her sitting on a boulder, staring out over the small pond. Her arms were wrapped around her blue pants clad legs; and her ponytail swayed gently in a soft breeze. She sighed, and he noticed the purple material of her shirt lift and fall with her sigh. Without turning around, she said, "Go away, old man."
Sanoske smiled to himself. Nothing like Kenshin., he thought. "And why would I do that, brat?", he asked as he settled on the boulder next to her.
"Because I wish to be alone.", she answered coldly.
"To wallow in your self-pity?", he asked.
He knew his jibe worked when she turned around and glared daggers at him. "No.", she said. "I was....."
Sanoske's inner smile faded when he saw the hurt and frustration in he eyes. "What?", he asked her, telling her to go on.
Jade sighed, and put her chin on her knees. "Do you know how frustrating it is?", she asked. "To always be mistaken for someone younger? To be seen as a 'brat'? Sometimes, I am happy about my childish looks. That often means that I am able to take assassination jobs that others wouldn't be able to take. But sometimes......it becomes old. I hate being seen younger than I am, and I hate the way that people seem to doubt me when I tell them that I am Kenshin's younger sister; or, that I am the Tora Tenchi."
Sanoske looked thoughtful. "Well, have you done anything about it?"
Jade frowned and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Excuse me?", she asked.
"Well, you have a problem, right?" At Jade's nod, he continued, "Usually when someone has a problem, they do something about it."
Jade's frown deepened and she turned to look at Sanoske. "Come again?"
Sanoske rolled his eyes. "Come on, Jade. You aren't stupid. I would have thought that my idea was simple enough for a five year old to understand!"
At this, Jade stood up. She threw him a dirty look over her shoulder and walked away, headed for the small river, intending to work out her anger by doing kata exercises. "Stupid baka.", Sanoske heard her mutter. "Doesn't he realize that I've already tried to do something about it?? I've tried everything that I could think of, and yet...nothing works!"
Once she had worked out her anger, she returned to the dojo, only to find that Sanoske had beaten her to it long before. When she walked through the open doors, Kaoru and Yahiko looked at her in newfound respect.
"Hello Miss Jade,"Yahiko said, grinning up at her. "We saved you lunch, would you like some?"
Jade gave him a puzzled glance, then sat down at the table. "Thank you," she replied, returning his grin for a small one of her own.
"I hope you like it," Kaoru said. "I made the lunch myself; and according to everyone, I'm a terrible cook. Will you tell me how it is?"
Jade, who had just stuffed a large glomp of rice into her mouth, covered a grimace. "It's very good," she said, trying her hardest not to spit the rice out.
Kaoru gave Yahiko and Sanoske superior looks. "See! I told you! Not everyone thinks that my cooking is nasty!!"
Sanoske and Yahiko just gave Kaoru withering looks, while they watched Jade for any disagreeable expression that she would let past her guard. Jade swallowed the rice--barely.
"Well, I'm done," she said, trying to give Kaoru a bright smile. "I'm still used to having a travelers stomach. Because of food scarcity, while on the road, travelers don't get to eat a lot. I'm not that hungry, is all. Anyways......Hey, big brother, want to have a spar?" At Kenshin's surprised look, she continued, "Well, it's been a long time since sensei last let us spar, right?"
Kenshin nodded. "That is correct, little one."
"Well, I want to see how you and I have improved. Please, niisan??" At this, Jade gave him her best 'puppy dog eyes' look. Kenshin had never been able to resist it in the past, and now was no different.
"As you wish, little one," he said, gently ruffling her hair. "When you're done, we'll go into the practice room."
Jade stood up, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I'm ready now!" she exclaimed. Before Kenshin could change his mind, she grabbed his hand with one hand; and with the other, she grabbed her traveling sack. Then she proceeded to drag her niisan into the practice room, Sanoske, Kaoru, and Yahiko trailing behind, interested to see what will happen.
A/N: Ohhhh.....lookie! My sad attempt at a cliff hanger!! But, please wait! I'll have Chapter Two done as soon as possible!! *grin*