A RIVAL FOR KENSHIN
Chapter IV: A Clearer Picture
Kaoru stared at Kenshin with narrow eyes. "Could it be true" Kaoru thought, "and if it was how come I never noticed it before? He's hiding something, that's obvious, but what would I do if it really IS a girls he's seeing tonight?!" Koaru felt her heart constrict and as if to ease the pain, by reflex, she placed a hand on her chest. "Should I ask him" Kaoru asked herself, " what if he said yes….am I really ready to know the truth?" a sigh escaped her lips as she realized the answer, "no…"
Kenshin watched her as she changed expression from a little angry, to a little…. "Hurt?" he thought, "No, probably just doubtful. " (Ahem, like I said, Kenshin is slow when it comes to these things). He steadied himself for a bombardment of words and finger wagging, and even maybe a punch…or two from her, but he was never prepared for what Kaoru did, which was basically, well, nothing! She just stood there looking at him with a hand across her chest.
At this point Kenshin felt he had to do something. He walked towards Kaoru, but she stepped back. "Kaoru…" Kenshin said softly, confused at her reaction. Whatever happened between them, bad or worse, Kaoru never backed away from him. She would bicker, and make angry faces and scream and occasionally hit him with a bamboo sword, but she was never silent and indifferent. He tried again, determined to reach her this time, but Kaoru shook her head. "Kenshin, I…..goodnight" she said and swiftly went back to her room. Kenshin stood there, hurt by Kaoru's actions. "How could she talk to Yujiro and not to me?" he thought, "How could she worry so much about Yujiro and not really care that I lied to her? It's like she doesn't even want to know what I was really doing here."
Now our Kenshin was, in truth, looking forward to the usual blah blahs of Koaru. It would have made things around here seem more normal. And besides, she looks really pretty when she's mad, at least our Kenshin thinks so. But he felt it then, for the first time in his life, the fear that he might actually loose her. And whether our brave battousai would admit it or not, this is actually tearing him apart. Kaoru on the other hand was already hating herself for fleeing. She could face a deadly enemy on the battlefield, but she could not face the gnawing fear that Kenshin might be having a woman "friend" somewhere. The fact that she might lose him, especially to someone else is something Kaoru thought she could not bear.
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Yujiro walked through the forest, still trying to sort out what had just happened between him and Kaoru. But he became suddenly alert as he saw the torch burning at an opening of the cave. The cave was large but well hidden, basically formed by Mother Nature herself, in the middle of the woods. As he entered, a big, bulky dark haired English man met him… "Dubley! Nice to see you again!" Yujiro said, in perfect English, but a bit too sarcastic and Dubley sneered at him but kept his distance. His orders for now, was to make sure the Jap kid stayed unhurt. "The master will see you now, follow me!" Dubley said, lit another torch and started to move deeper inside the cave.
Yujiro saw the carriage he and Mr. Barkley rode in yesterday. (If you remember, it was the same carriage we saw in the opening of our story). The cave was spacious enough for it to enter, and unbelievable though it may seem, the inside of the cave was even lager, almost an underground mansion. There were about a dozen or so torches lit inside. At the center of the inner cave is a small wooden round table, and a couple of chairs, one of which was occupied by Mr. Barkley. It was quite bright but on top of the table was an oil lamp, "Probably to remind Mr. Barkley of England….hypocritical oaf!" Yujiro thought "He would sell England in a blink of an eye given the chance." Barkley was a tall, skinny man. His face looked like that of the devious man he is, high forehead, thick brows, thin lips, and a long, crooked nose. How Yujiro hated him, but right now, he is the only solution for his problem.
Barkley looked at Yujiro without much pleasure. He didn't like the kid when he first saw him, and his distaste haven't changed, but they do need him for this operation so he offered him a smile, a very unconvincing one, but a smile nonetheless. Yujiro didn't acknowledge it as he saw no need to. "Darn kid!" Barkley thought, maintaining the smile on his face. "So?" he asked, eager to hear the report. "Four people live there he said. Kaoru, the one I told you about, a couple of men and one kid. But I can't hardly assess if she wanted to sell the place or not in just a few hours." Yujiro said calmly. "Well have you considered asking her? We're paying you big bucks for this so you might as well earn it!" Barkley barked at him. (His name is well suited for him don't you think…harharhar…errrr….oh yeah, sorry, back to the story).
"Don't you think it's a bit suspicious that and old friend you haven't seen in eleven years suddenly appears and asks you if you wanted to sell your home?" Yujiro spoke straight, without a trace of mockery in his voice, but his eyes said a lot more than just mockery. Barkley's right eye twitched as it often does when he is angry. "That kid is a smart-ass" Barkley thought angrily, "but to make me look stupid was a big mistake. I'll get you for that….later," but for now, I will use you first. It took a lot of effort from him but Barkley forced himself to calm down. "Alright, he said, you're right. But is there any possibility that you girlfriend would consider selling the place?"
"Knowing Kaoru, I don't think she would sell that place for all the money in the world." Seeing Barkley's eyes narrow made Yujiro realize that what he said was a mistake. His purpose was to dissuade any further interest Barkley has in taking Kaoru's land if he knew she would not sell. "Well then, on to plan B" Barkley said and he smiled deviously as he saw the smarty-pant's questioning look. "We have no plan B" Yujiro said. "The deal was to let me scout the place, make a diagram on its layout and assess if she wanted to sell. You'll get the diagram as soon as I get my money."
Barkley laughed out loud. "Do you really think that you would get paid with that much money doing practically nothing?! You are naïve kid!" Barkley barked again. "That's it" Yujiro said angry, "I'll find another way to pay for my mother's house! And I won't let you get Kaoru's either!" Barkley stood and reached inside his pocket for a pistol, but Yujiro was quicker. He grabbed Barkley's hand, knocking the table down. He twisted it causing Barkley to scream in pain and loose his grip on the gun. The gun barely reached the cave floor but Yujiro was already tightening his grip on Barkley and he screamed louder, falling on his knees. Then Yujiro felt someone behind him. He released Barkley and tried to turn, but he was too late, Dubley hit Yujiro at the back of his head with a pistol handle and Yujiro sank to the ground….unconscious.
………..to be continued(c",)
Chapter IV: A Clearer Picture
Kaoru stared at Kenshin with narrow eyes. "Could it be true" Kaoru thought, "and if it was how come I never noticed it before? He's hiding something, that's obvious, but what would I do if it really IS a girls he's seeing tonight?!" Koaru felt her heart constrict and as if to ease the pain, by reflex, she placed a hand on her chest. "Should I ask him" Kaoru asked herself, " what if he said yes….am I really ready to know the truth?" a sigh escaped her lips as she realized the answer, "no…"
Kenshin watched her as she changed expression from a little angry, to a little…. "Hurt?" he thought, "No, probably just doubtful. " (Ahem, like I said, Kenshin is slow when it comes to these things). He steadied himself for a bombardment of words and finger wagging, and even maybe a punch…or two from her, but he was never prepared for what Kaoru did, which was basically, well, nothing! She just stood there looking at him with a hand across her chest.
At this point Kenshin felt he had to do something. He walked towards Kaoru, but she stepped back. "Kaoru…" Kenshin said softly, confused at her reaction. Whatever happened between them, bad or worse, Kaoru never backed away from him. She would bicker, and make angry faces and scream and occasionally hit him with a bamboo sword, but she was never silent and indifferent. He tried again, determined to reach her this time, but Kaoru shook her head. "Kenshin, I…..goodnight" she said and swiftly went back to her room. Kenshin stood there, hurt by Kaoru's actions. "How could she talk to Yujiro and not to me?" he thought, "How could she worry so much about Yujiro and not really care that I lied to her? It's like she doesn't even want to know what I was really doing here."
Now our Kenshin was, in truth, looking forward to the usual blah blahs of Koaru. It would have made things around here seem more normal. And besides, she looks really pretty when she's mad, at least our Kenshin thinks so. But he felt it then, for the first time in his life, the fear that he might actually loose her. And whether our brave battousai would admit it or not, this is actually tearing him apart. Kaoru on the other hand was already hating herself for fleeing. She could face a deadly enemy on the battlefield, but she could not face the gnawing fear that Kenshin might be having a woman "friend" somewhere. The fact that she might lose him, especially to someone else is something Kaoru thought she could not bear.
*************************************************************
Yujiro walked through the forest, still trying to sort out what had just happened between him and Kaoru. But he became suddenly alert as he saw the torch burning at an opening of the cave. The cave was large but well hidden, basically formed by Mother Nature herself, in the middle of the woods. As he entered, a big, bulky dark haired English man met him… "Dubley! Nice to see you again!" Yujiro said, in perfect English, but a bit too sarcastic and Dubley sneered at him but kept his distance. His orders for now, was to make sure the Jap kid stayed unhurt. "The master will see you now, follow me!" Dubley said, lit another torch and started to move deeper inside the cave.
Yujiro saw the carriage he and Mr. Barkley rode in yesterday. (If you remember, it was the same carriage we saw in the opening of our story). The cave was spacious enough for it to enter, and unbelievable though it may seem, the inside of the cave was even lager, almost an underground mansion. There were about a dozen or so torches lit inside. At the center of the inner cave is a small wooden round table, and a couple of chairs, one of which was occupied by Mr. Barkley. It was quite bright but on top of the table was an oil lamp, "Probably to remind Mr. Barkley of England….hypocritical oaf!" Yujiro thought "He would sell England in a blink of an eye given the chance." Barkley was a tall, skinny man. His face looked like that of the devious man he is, high forehead, thick brows, thin lips, and a long, crooked nose. How Yujiro hated him, but right now, he is the only solution for his problem.
Barkley looked at Yujiro without much pleasure. He didn't like the kid when he first saw him, and his distaste haven't changed, but they do need him for this operation so he offered him a smile, a very unconvincing one, but a smile nonetheless. Yujiro didn't acknowledge it as he saw no need to. "Darn kid!" Barkley thought, maintaining the smile on his face. "So?" he asked, eager to hear the report. "Four people live there he said. Kaoru, the one I told you about, a couple of men and one kid. But I can't hardly assess if she wanted to sell the place or not in just a few hours." Yujiro said calmly. "Well have you considered asking her? We're paying you big bucks for this so you might as well earn it!" Barkley barked at him. (His name is well suited for him don't you think…harharhar…errrr….oh yeah, sorry, back to the story).
"Don't you think it's a bit suspicious that and old friend you haven't seen in eleven years suddenly appears and asks you if you wanted to sell your home?" Yujiro spoke straight, without a trace of mockery in his voice, but his eyes said a lot more than just mockery. Barkley's right eye twitched as it often does when he is angry. "That kid is a smart-ass" Barkley thought angrily, "but to make me look stupid was a big mistake. I'll get you for that….later," but for now, I will use you first. It took a lot of effort from him but Barkley forced himself to calm down. "Alright, he said, you're right. But is there any possibility that you girlfriend would consider selling the place?"
"Knowing Kaoru, I don't think she would sell that place for all the money in the world." Seeing Barkley's eyes narrow made Yujiro realize that what he said was a mistake. His purpose was to dissuade any further interest Barkley has in taking Kaoru's land if he knew she would not sell. "Well then, on to plan B" Barkley said and he smiled deviously as he saw the smarty-pant's questioning look. "We have no plan B" Yujiro said. "The deal was to let me scout the place, make a diagram on its layout and assess if she wanted to sell. You'll get the diagram as soon as I get my money."
Barkley laughed out loud. "Do you really think that you would get paid with that much money doing practically nothing?! You are naïve kid!" Barkley barked again. "That's it" Yujiro said angry, "I'll find another way to pay for my mother's house! And I won't let you get Kaoru's either!" Barkley stood and reached inside his pocket for a pistol, but Yujiro was quicker. He grabbed Barkley's hand, knocking the table down. He twisted it causing Barkley to scream in pain and loose his grip on the gun. The gun barely reached the cave floor but Yujiro was already tightening his grip on Barkley and he screamed louder, falling on his knees. Then Yujiro felt someone behind him. He released Barkley and tried to turn, but he was too late, Dubley hit Yujiro at the back of his head with a pistol handle and Yujiro sank to the ground….unconscious.
………..to be continued(c",)
