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The feeling…
Kaoru had told Kenshin that he had to help support the dojo, and the family when they were married. He had few skills, other than Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, but he was willing to work. Every so often there would be openings for temporary work. Mostly labor, but it was still work that paid. The current job he was hired for was basic road maintenance, and construction. The pay was not as good as most jobs, but most jobs weren't as easy to get, and he wasn't really after a steady job. He'd been working since sun up, and no one went home until sunset.
"About two more hours or so." He thought, as he shoveled out a ditch along what would be the new road. Five men worked on the same ditch with him. The talk was kept to a minimum; the construction foreman felt it was counter-productive to talk while working. Kenshin didn't mind, though; it gave him time to think things over. Most of his pondering was whether Yui would or wouldn't believe him.
"If she doesn't believe me, It would be trouble. She'd insist on fighting. If she doesn't know the Ougi, I doubt she could have any chance of winning. But still, I'd rather not fight her if I can avoid it. I believe Kaoru will be the main factor in her believing that I'm not Battousai anymore. I know she's a good speaker, and she's usually the first to say I'm not the same as I was back then.
***Kenshin Is Kenshin, just a Rurouni.*** He remembered Kaoru's words so easily. "I don't think Yui will have any trouble not believing her. And it won't just be Kaoru, Sano will probably be there to tell her the same thing, and Megumi and Yahiko." He smiled through his sweat.
"Water?" The young girl asked, lifting the dipper out of the bucket of water.
"Thank you." He said in his usual manner, gulping down the whole cupful. She smiled at him, squinting her eyes at the afternoon sun. He handed her the dipper back, returning her smile, though she could barely see his face from the corona of the suns light shining around his head. She turned to walk on to the next worker, lugging by her sides her two buckets filled with water. He reached down for his shovel, when his Ki screamed.
A sharp pain in his left arm, and then a strange sick feeling…the same as…as when Tomoe… Kenshin doubled over from the pain swelling in his gut.
"Kaoru…Dono." He said reaching out in front of him. The girl noticed him drop down. She instantly thought something was wrong with the water she'd brought.
"Sir!" She yelled, dropping the buckets and rushing to his side. "Are you alright?" She asked. He tried to stand, but couldn't. It was as if something had tied his gut into a knot.
"K…Kaoru Dono…" Was all he could muster.
"Someone get a doctor!" The girl yelled. Then as suddenly as it came on, the pain disappeared. He knew exactly what had happened. He pulled himself to his feet, and stepped out of the ditch.
"Are you alright?" The foreman asked. Kenshin answered him quickly.
"Yes, but I have to go home, I'm sorry."
"You can't leave." The foreman said. Kenshin turned and started walking back toward Tokyo.
"Wait sir! You wont get paid!" The girl yelled, as he continued walking down the road. He walked until he was out of their sight, then he broke into a run.
"Please let Kaoru Dono be okay."
Tsubame stepped out of the Akabeko kitchen door, carrying the buckets for water. She set them beside the well, and lowered the well's bucket down into the water. "This should be the last time we need water for the day. In an hour or so the Akabeko will close for the night." She let out an exhausted sigh, as she looked down into the well. "That takes care of the easy part." She said, as she pulled the rope one way and then the other, filling the bucket below.
"Tsubame!" Yahiko's voice called from down the street. She looked up from her chore at the well; her face lit up.
"Yahiko Kun, Ayame Chan!" She said, stepping away from the well. "Nice to see you both." She finished.
"We were just walking by, so I thought I'd come see how you were doing." Yahiko said, scratching his head.
"We had to get tofu." Ayame said, desperate for some way to get herself in between them.
"Tsubame, you have a day off coming up soon, ne?" Yahiko asked.
"Yes," She answered, looking at him softly. He loved it when she looked at him like that; Ayame hated it.
"I thought we could… I mean, I was wondering if you and me could… since you wont have to work, I thought we could…" He stuttered.
"Tsubame Chan, what is Yui San like?" Ayame interrupted Yahiko's stuttering.
"She's nice, but sometimes she can be scary." Tsubame answered,
"Oh, Like when she fought that guy before?" Ayame asked.
"Well that was scary, but I mean when she cooks, sometimes she looks really serious, It scares me a little." Tsubame said. Ayame's kimono fell open a little, exposing a shoulder.* "She gets scared from Yui's serious looks? Is this girl for real?"
"Tsubame, we're having a big dinner tonight, why don't you stop by?" Yahiko asked; Ayame was turning white.
"I'd love to," Tsubame answered; Ayame suddenly felt a little sick. "but I'm so tired, and tomorrow is our busiest day of the week, so I need to get plenty of rest tonight. I'm sorry." She said; Ayame breathed a sigh of relief.
"Too bad, I'm sure-"
"Yahiko, we better hurry, Yui San is waiting on us." Ayame interrupted, happy that she remembered something that gave her an excuse to get Yahiko away from Tsubame.
"Oh yeah, we gotta go Tsubame." Yahiko said, being pulled away by Ayame. "Don't work too hard!" he yelled back to her.
*I'm no good at describing most anime outtakes and face faults, This is the same thing Kaoru and Misao did when they found out Kamatari was a guy.
"Yui, Oi Yui! Wake up." Hiko said, as Yui slowly opened her eyes, she was seeing red. "Wake up? He didn't say 'get up ugly." "Get up, ugly, You got lucky."
"I… my eyes…I'm seeing…red…" She said, amazed at how weak her voice sounded.
"There's blood in your eyes, get up before you choke on it." Hiko said, pulling gently on her arm.
"You…didn't finish it?" She asked sitting up only to feel very woozy.
"Of course I did, What, you thought I held back. How arrogant of you, I never hold back when teaching my students, no matter how stupid or ugly they are. You lived because you were lucky. You didn't learn Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu Ougi, but you're still alive. You didn't find what you lacked, but your heart is still searching. When you're wounds heal I want you to leave."
"What?" Yui asked.
"I don't want to teach you the Ougi if all you are going to do is die. Find what it is that you're missing, and come back. Then I'll teach you."
"No Shishou, I want to learn The Ou……" She winced as she sat up from the pain. "Shishou, I want to finish…Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, I… want to finish it, I don't want to leave." She stuttered.
"You need some rest." He said picking her up and carrying her back up the path toward his home. Yui lay in his arms almost motionless. "He won't teach me because he's afraid I'll become like Himura, I wont Shishou. I'll prove it to you. I'll kill Hitokiri Battousai and give you back your honor." She thought as he carried her in the mid-day sun back to the shack.
Ayame had always had trouble getting between Yahiko and Tsubame, But that time was one of the worst. She was barely noticed by either of them. She was rather upset now, walking down the street with Yahiko beside her. She walked quickly, but remained careful not to break the tofu. "Why can't she just go away?! I can't stand her; she always captures his whole attention. Why can't I turn his head like that? What does she have that I don't? She can't even defend herself. Is that what he wants? A little defenseless wimp?!? No that can't be, Ken-nitan loves Oneesan, and she always beats on him." She thought.
Yahiko was angry too. He knew he could persuade Tsubame to join them, but Ayame had hurried him up. Now he had to spend the afternoon without her. "Dammit Ayame, sometimes you can just get in the way. I wish she'd leave me alone! She tries so hard to beat me In Kasshin Ryu. Does she think it'll make me like her more? Can't she see she'll never be more than a younger sister to me?"
"Myojin Kun," Yui called from across the bridge, she was leaning against a lamppost.
"Oi, Yui San, we got the tofu!" Yahiko yelled back.
"Ayame Chan, You look a little distressed, is everything alright?" She asked Ayame.
"Oh, I'm fine, I'm just worried about breaking the tofu." She answered grinning up at Yui.
"Would you like me to take over then?" Yui asked, holding out her hands to take the bowl.
"No, I'm fine thank you Yui San." Ayame answered. She didn't want to seem weak in front of Yahiko.
"Alright then," Yui answered, straightening back up. "Shall we go?"
"Hai." "Hai."
"I haven't gotten a chance to talk much with you two. You're both learning Kamiya Kasshin Ryu?" Yui asked.
"Yes, Yahiko knows more than I do, but I'm learning fast." Ayame answered, grinning gleefully.
"How long have you two been studying?" Yui asked.
"I started just this past year, but Yahiko's been-" Ayame started.
"I've been Kaoru's student for around three years or so." Yahiko said, interrupting her.
"Oh, you must know a lot about it then." Yui said.
"Yeah, I've been working hard on my control recently. Ayame insists on fighting me, and I don't want to hurt her."
"Doesn't want to hurt me!?" Ayame thought.
"That is a noble gesture, how many times has she hurt you." Yui asked.
"I usually get in at least three good solid-" Ayame started.
"More like one, and I usually let you have it." Yahiko said with arrogance. Yui sighed, pulled an elaborate pin from her hair, and dropped it nonchalantly off the side of the path. It tumbled down the hillside, coming to rest by a rock.
"Oh no, my favorite hairpin!" She said, [fake]dropping to her knees at the edge of the path.
"I'll get it." Ayame yelled enthusiastically.
"Ayame, you'll slip and fall, I'll go." Yahiko said, stepping down the edge. Ayame scrunched up her nose, and took a step toward the edge.
"Ayame Chan, you'll break the tofu. Let Myojin Kun get it." Yui said, tugging on her kimono. Ayame couldn't believe her. "Isn't she supposed to be a tough fighter? Why is she acting like Tsubame?" Yahiko slid down the side of the path, all the way to the bottom. And turned around to climb back up to get the pin.
"Ayame Chan," Yui said, standing up. "Do you think he lets you have those hits?" She finished.
"Of course not, I can hit him!" She said, balling up her fists.
"Are you sure?" Yui said, leaning down and looking into her eyes. Ayame looked for a minute, then she dropped her head.
"I try as hard as I can, but I just can't hit him, I mean I should be able to hit him at least once. But I can only hit him when he's deliberately careless. I practice all the time, but…" Ayame said.
"I don't think you should be so hard on yourself, He's had two more years at least than you to work on it. You should concentrate more on your life outside of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."
"But Yui San," Ayame complained.
"Like me, I can fight, but I don't always fight. I do other things, like cook, sew, and I even like to fish. But my point is, there are people I know I can't beat, or that I can't even hit. But fighting doesn't rule my life."
"But, I want to be a master, I want to show him I'm not weak!" Ayame said.
"::tsk tsk:: you're letting emotion get in the way of your goal."
"My goal?" Ayame asked. "My goal is to be Yahiko's girlfriend." She thought.
"The goal of Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, Kaoru San told me, is to respect life. When the time comes to fight, then fight, but only to protect the ones you care for, not to be stronger than your opponent." Yui said. Ayame looked down, partly from shock, partly out of embarrassment.
"Yui San…" Ayame said softly.
"Yui San!" Yahiko yelled, holding her hairpin up in the air. "I got it!"
"Thank you Myojin Kun." She said, standing and brushing the dirt off her kimono.
"Oneesan!!!" Ayame called out from the back gate. "She left the laundry in the basket." She noted aloud. She walked slowly into the kitchen, and looked around. Yahiko and Yui had walked slower than Ayame, and were just passing through the gate.
"It's too quiet." Yui said. Her Ken Ki may not have been as developed as Kenshin's, but she could still tell something was amiss.
"Yeah," Yahiko said looking around. "Kaoru!" He yelled, then waited for a response. He had noticed the still of nature. No fireflies around, and the nearby Cicadas were totally silent. "Kaoru? Ayame?" He called out as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Kaoru San, are you here?" Yui said. Ayame walked down the hall toward the dojo, but stopped at the door.
"Ayame?" Yahiko said, looking up the hall at her. The wooden tofu bowl slid out of her hand and landed awkwardly on the floor, spilling its contents over her feet. She stood there staring into the dojo.
"Ayame?" Yui said, walking toward her. As she got closer to the doorway to the dojo, she saw what made Ayame drop the dish. Slumped against the east wall of the dojo, in a pool of blood, was Kaoru.
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