Nice To Meet You, Ken-chan… Chapter: 1-The Acquaintance… By: Chibi-Akane-chan2

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A.N.-Don't ask…this may sound like one heck of a weird story but, um….I dunno….just read it to humor my poor and what's-left sanity…by the way, if you want to read this story, you're gonna have to brew up on some of your Japanese; I will use quite a few phrases in this story.  I suggest you study some before you read this.

Disclaimers: Spare me…I didn't even get to see how Watsuki-san looks like yet, dang it!!! _;;;

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            "Kenshin!!!!!!!!!!!!"

            The surprised rurouni "oro'd" and tripped from his on-a-roll wiping run, landing headfirst on the halfway-cleaned floor.  He slowly staggered up and rubbed his head with his right and with the washcloth still clutched in his left.  He grunted and stood up patting his somewhat sooted white hakama.

            "Nani de gozaru, Kaoru-dono?!" Kenshin called back as he hurried to Kaoru slightly concerned.

            He ran to the dojo but she didn't seem to be there practicing.  Kenshin blinked.  Kaoru was always here in the dojo practicing…unless—just then he smelled a raucous scent and realized black smoke was entering the dojo…

            Shimatta…if she's not here…then she's probably…

            He ran as fast as he could in the kitchen trying not to faint from the horrible smell of burnt taro .  In a small part of his mind he was wondering how in the world she managed to actually burn taro.  He coughed as he fanned his hand in front of his face grimacing.  He managed to see a disgusted kendo mistress throw a burnt piece of…something…out of the window. 

            "Kaoru-dono!  Kaoru-dono!  Daijoubu de gozaru ga?" he said urgently as he tried to squint through the haze of black.  Little by little, the smoke made its way out the window and gradually everything reverted almost back to normal.  Kenshin coughed a little and approached Kaoru who was leaning against the counter, her head hanging.

            "Ano…Ka-Kaoru-do.."

            He was interrupted as a teary-eyed Kaoru with two fists cuddled up to her chin popped in front of him.

            "Oro!" Kenshin jumped as he sweatdropped.

            "Keeen…shiiiin…I messed up my…ta-taro…."

            "I'm sure it was just an accident…that—that it was.."

            Kenshin just gave her a sheepish grin as he put his hand behind his head.  He walked to the counter and saw that half of it was practically charcoal.  He cringed.

            "We-well…we may as well clean up, that we will..and…Kaoru-dono?  Kaoru-dono?  Are you listening to me?"

            He turned around and saw that Kaoru was in a red chef outfit and had a white bandanna tied around her forehead looking all charged up once more.  Oh!  The horror!!

            "YOOOOOOSHIIIIIAAA!!!!!!!!!!" Kaoru bellowed ready to cook once more.

            Kenshin sweatdropped and put his hands up.

            "Su-sukoshi matte…" Kenshin said nervously, "maybe it's better that I cook and—DA-ME!  Don't put that in!!!  ERK!!  Not that either!  NO!  That's baking soda not baking powder!  Yamero!  AHHH!!!  DON'T PUT THAT—"

::BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!::

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            Yahiko and Sanosuke jumped as they heard a scream from a familiar redheaded wanderer and then a loud explosion from inside the house.  Yahiko stopped practicing with his bokken, sat down on the grass, and turned his head to the kitchen—or at least what's left of it.

            "Oi!!  Busu!!  What the hell did you do this time?!"

            Kenshin coughed and looked out with a slight annoyed expression on his face.

            Sanosuke walked to where Yahiko was sitting chewing on a piece of grass.

            "Jou-chan, eh…?  Then I don't even gotta guess," he said as he rolled his eyes.

            "Well…at-at least she's moti-ti…" he trailed off as he turned around sensing something VERY dangerous behind him.  So dangerous he almost regretted it when he was turned halfway.  It was an enraged Kaoru looking ten times bigger than he was.

            "YOU WERE ABOUT TO INSULT MY COOKING, WEREN'T YOU?!?!  YOU LET MY BLOW UP MY OWN KITCHEN ON PURPOSE, DIDN'T YOU?!!  IS THIS THE THANKS I GET FOR LETTING YOU FREELOAD ON ME??!!!"

            "OrOoOoOo…" Kenshin said before he fainted all swirly-eyed, his nerves taking its toll.

            Yahiko slapped his palm on his forehead and sweatdropped,

            "Matta-ku…"

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            Amazingly, after six excruciatingly long hours, they finally got the kitchen somewhat renovated.

            "Che…well it's better than nothin'," Sanosuke remarked.

            "Yeah, well…busu didn't even help," Yahiko panted, exhausted

            "Maa, maa…she went to go get take-out," Kenshin said as he tried to assuage the two grumbling companions, a little whipped out himself.

            "Kono busu…" Yahiko murmured.  Sanosuke thwapped him upside the head.

            "NANI SUNDE?!?!"

"I'm just boppin' ya for her," he grinned.

            Yahiko muttered.

            Kenshin laughed and cleaned up the remnants on the floor as Kaoru came back a while later with five bentos in her hand.

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            When they finished eating, Kaoru ordered Yahiko that it was time to practice again.

            "Aww!  But the dojo still reeks, I tell ya!"

            Kaoru groaned, not liking how he reminded of her of the last incident, and said,

            "Alright!  Alright!  We'll train outside then!  Honestly!"

            Just as everybody was about to clean up and get ready about their business, a panicked scream through the Kamiya dojo gates startled them,

            "TASUKETE KURE!!!"

            Kenshin was instantly alarmed and ran out with his Sakaba sword.

            "Nani de gozaru ga?!"

            Kenshin and the others followed him.  As they reached the gates, they saw a bloody and almost on the brink-of-death man supporting an unconscious girl up.  The man was wearing a gray outfit that was ripped and torn and spotted with his blood along with his Japanese thong sandals.  His head was bald, making his look older than he really was.  He looked up at the group and with last pleading eyes said,

            "Pl-please…he-help my….dau-daughter…"

            He then fell to the floor dead, his grasp on his daughter loose.  Kaoru kneeled over the man to see he was certainly dead.

            "Sonna…" she said feeling so sorry for him.

            "Go make a grave, Sano.  Kaoru-dono and I will accompany this girl.  Yahiko, go with Sanosuke," Kenshin said solemnly yet in a tone where it sounded like there was no more room for making any more comments.

            Sanosuke and Yahiko carefully carried the man out of the dojo as Kenshin and Kaoru look at their retreating figures.

            "We better take her inside, Kenshin,"

            He nodded in agreement.  They took her inside Kenshin's room and layed her on his futon.  Kaoru wringed out a washcloth and placed it on the girl's forehead.  The girl seemed to be calm and collective on the outside, but Kenshin knew better.  He knew.  He knew that inside of her was turmoil.  He could feel it.  Her soul was of something that cannot be rested for some reason.  Her face was of the same color shade as Kaoru but the similarity ended there.  Her hair was very very dark blue as it sprawled out the futon, shining light blue.  Even though Kaoru also had dark blue hair, this girl's shade of hair was different somewhat.  She was wearing a white yukata with black praying beads on her left wrist.  He also noticed a hilt next to her waist and realized that she too carried a sword.  She seemed to be of Kaoru's age though Kenshin could not be sure.  A tired moan interrupted his train of thought.

            "Oro….where-where am…" the girl wondered groggily.  All of a sudden she seemed to be fully awake as she sprang from her futon the washcloth falling to her lap from her forehead.

            "Otousan!  Otousan!  Where are you?!" she said feverishly as she turned her head in all different directions urgently.

            "Please, calm down," Kaoru coaxed as she placed a gentle grip on the girl's shoulders and then gradually hugged her.  The girl slightly grasped onto Kaoru's clothes in the embrace as she started to sob in Kaoru's chest.

            "Shi—shikashi…otousan!" she sobbed.

            "Gomen nasai," Kenshin said trying to ignore the fact that she just also said "oro".  The girl jumped at his voice as she turned to face him, blinking.  Kaoru let go of her as the girl turned her face down the floor her bangs shadowing her eyes.

            "Otousan's dead…isn't he…?" she whispered already knowing the answer.

            "Two of my friends…are making a proper grave for him right now," Kaoru quietly said, choosing her words carefully.

            "I see…arigatou de gozaru," she whispered again as she looked up.  Kenshin and Kaoru slightly jumped.  She had the brightest emerald eyes they had ever seen!  Both of them exhaled.

            "Anytime, er…um…"

            The girl noticed Kaoru trailing off and remembered her manners.

            "Sumimasen de gozaru," she said apologetically, "atashi wa Yu-Yu-Yukishiro…Yukishiro To-Tomoe desu.  Yo—yo…yoroshiku ne," Tomoe stuttered somewhat nervous as she bowed in her sitting place on Kenshin's bed.

            "Ah...sooka!  Tomoe-chan…yoroshiku!" Kaoru greeted cheerfully.

            As for Kenshin, his eyes were wide as he inhaled sharply.  Unfortunately, he inhaled a bit TOO sharply as he started to choke.

            "Kenshin?  What's wrong…?" Kaoru asked tilting her head.

            "No-nothing..." Kenshin lied as he coughed.

            "Hmm…oh, alright then," Kaoru smiled oblivious of what really went through the rurouni's head, "tonikaku-tonikaku, where is your mother, Tomoe-chan?"

            "She's dead," Tomoe replied tersely.

            Kaoru seemed a bit taken aback by her directness and lack of enthusiasm and realized that no matter how beautiful her eyes were, there seemed to be no life in them whatsoever.  Kaoru observed that her eyes were distant yet they seemed to carry emotion at the same time.  She couldn't get why they were like this.  It must be something deeper…

            "Well then, um…where do you live…?" Kaoru asked trying to change the subject.

            "I don't live anywhere; I'm a slave…and so were my parents,"

            "A slave de gozaru?" Kenshin asked questioningly, "of who…?"

            Tomoe didn't say anything nor did she look at him.  Kaoru noticed the tension and silently berated Kenshin for his lack of manners as she tried a different tactic.

            "Oh jeez…where are my manners, Tomoe-chan?" Kaoru said in fake sheepishness, "let me introduce us.  Atashi wa Kamiya Kaoru desu to kare wa Himura Kenshin desu,"

            She noticed Tomoe blushed and asked her what was wrong.

            "Well, it's just that…nobody has every called me To…Tomoe-chan before in my life,"

            "Honto?  Well then, I'm glad to be your first!  If you want, you can call me Kao-chan and call Kenshin Ken-chan!  Wouldn't that be kawaii, Ken-chan?"

            Tomoe gave Kenshin and Kaoru a cryptic expression before she looked back down.

            "Ehehehehe…I'd get embarrased though, Kaoru-dono," he said as he smiled embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head.

            "Mou!!  Aren't you a man or aren't you a man?!"

            Kenshin hung his head and sweatdropped.  He heard a giggle and looked up.  Tomoe was giggling at the whole scene.

            "Ever since I was little, I thought sibling rivalry was always a little silly…"

            Kenshin and Kaoru facefaulted.

            SIBLING rivalry?!!?!  they both thought.

"Oro…." Tomoe murmured, "did I say…something wrong…?" 

She began to look uncertain again like she did from the beginning.  She thought maybe it was better that she left.

            "I'm…sorry…" she apologized in shame as she got up.

            "No wait!  Don't leave!" Kaoru cried as she grabbed a hold of Tomoe's hand, "why not just LIVE with us…?!  I mean, you don't have anywhere to live right?"

            The green-eyed girl was silent for a moment, then she said,

            "I just…don't want it to be an imposition, that's all…"

            "If it were my house Tomoe-dono, then I'd be very glad to let you stay," Kenshin said with a smile on his face.  Both girls heard a sharp edge in his voice as he said "Tomoe".

            "Kenshin…are you SURE nothing's wrong with you?"

            "Hai, I'm sure de gozaru ga," he assured trying his best to look cheerful.

            "…Okay then, if you say so…" Kaoru trailed off, not really sure whether to believe him or not.

            "A-re…will you really let me stay here, Kaoru-san?"

            Kaoru gave her a look.

            "Oro…I mean, Kao-chan?"

            "Of COURSE I do!  I need more of a girl surrounding here than men for pigs!"

            Kenshin sweatdropped.

            "Well…"

            "Am I hearing a declination?" Kaoru said in mock threatening.

            "Demo……some people may be after me and I don't want to put you people in danger…" she trailed off.

            "Daijoubu!!  You're talking to the assistant master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu here!  Besides, aren't you a pracititioner of some kind of Budo?" Kaoru inquired pointing at Tomoe's sword sheath that was inserted snugly between the fabrics of her waist.

            "Well…yes I am, actually.  I'm from a…Samurai family," Tomoe hesitantly worded.

            A Samurai family de gozaru ga? Kenshin thought in slight surprise as he stood up.

            "What is your style, Tomoe-dono?"

            Silence.

            "Tomoe-dono?"

            "Mou!  Stop prying on the poor girl!"

            "How old are you?" Kenshin asked ignoring Kaoru's protest.

            "I'm…"

            "How old are you?" Kenshin repeated sounding more authoritive.

             "I'm…fifteen years old,"

            Kaoru gawked,

            "That's not fair!!  I'm seventeen and you already have a bigger chest than I do!" she blurted.

            Tomoe had a "deer-caught-in-the-head-lights" expression on her face whereas Kenshin "oro'd" and blushed.

            "Oops…" Kaoru said forgetting a man was in there.  Then came her next reaction: Anger…

"Kenshin!!  SUUUKEBEEEE!!  What are you doing here listening to us?!"

            Her fist enlarged five times as she right jabbed Kenshin across the face.

            "OROOOOOOO..." Kenshin moaned with swirly eyes as he fell to the floor unconscious.  Tomoe sweatdropped, feeling quite afraid of Kaoru at the moment.

            "Oro…it's not his fault, Kaoru-sa…Kao-chan,"

            Kaoru exhaled through her nose.

            "And why do you keep on talking like Kenshin, dang it?!"

            Tomoe blinked.

            "Wa…wakaranai de gozaru…"

            Kaoru sighed and replied in return as she put her hands on his hips,

            "Maa, maa…it has a kawaii ring on you,"

            Tomoe blushed, not used to being complimented all the time,

            "You…really think so?"

            "HONTO ni!  Saa!  Let me show you to your room…"

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A.N.-Okay…first off, the girl who has the name of Kenshin's ex-wife has nothing to do with her.  She's not a reincarnation of her or anything.  She just happened to have the same name as the original Tomoe Yukishiro did coincidentally.  Of course Ken-chan here, whether he likes it or not, is still affected by this.  As for Kaoru, she doesn't know everything of Kenshin's past just yet.  It's sort of a little after where they first meet Marimo, the "Human Bullet" episode.  As for her talking like Kenshin, there's actually a reason behind all of that…I'm just…not telling you what it is just yet^_^;;;