I'm back! Thanks for the reviews! A few notes first, thanks to Jason M. Lee for the suggestions and comments. I've watched more episodes in English than I did with Japanese (Because I like Kenshin's voice in English better than in Japanese), and they do say THE Battousai, and Auntie Kaoru in English, but I appreciate your comments.
And Nim, don't worry, I think we have the same opinion on heroines, afterall, my favorite anime heroine ever is that kick-@$$ sorceress Lina Inverse from Slayers, and she's probably the feistiest as heroines go, ne?
Disclaimer: Why do I even bother with this, nobody even reads them! But don't wanna be sued, so…. I don't own RK blah blah blah.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::FATED MEETING:::::
Kaoru gingerly approached the gate. A few men in uniforms were standing guard at the entrance. They didn't look too menacing, but Kaoru still hesitated. What was she supposed to say? Just say 'Hey, I'd like to talk to the Lord of Imperial Army coz my dead mother told me so'. That doesn't sound quite right.
Just as she was about to clear her throat to speak, a distant rumbling of wheels was heard. The guards moved quickly to open the gate and an elegant carriage whist past.
Kaoru stepped back and waited until the cloud of dust the carriage left behind settled on the ground. The guards closed the gate again. Apparently, they haven't noticed her yet.
"Excuse me," she began.
One of the uniformed men turned, but before she could open her mouth to speak again, the guard nodded and opened a smaller portion of the gate and motioned for her to come in.
Kaoru blinked, then shrugged. If she didn't have to explain why she was here, then that would be for the better.
Stepping over the threshold, Kaoru walked towards the mansion, which was only a short distance from the gates. Once again, the feeling of being so small amidst such a huge place came back, but she shrugged it off confidently. She would just ask this Kenshin Himura if he knew her mother, if he says no, then she's out. It's that simple, she reassured herself.
Approaching the house, she noticed a man standing on the front door with a rather stiff posture. Kaoru sighed. Rich people sure are pretty weird.
"May I help you?" the man asked in a rather formal voice.
"I-I would like to speak to Mr. Kenshin Himura please," she blurted out.
The man frowned slightly at her casually mentioning his master's name without proper address, but then his expression quickly went back to a stoic mask.
"This way please," the man answered politely, opening the double doors and motioning for her to come in.
Kaoru stepped in and found herself standing before a huge, dome-like main hall. Breathing in awe, Kaoru allowed her eyes to roam over the large hall. The house had been impressive from outside, but it's absolutely breathtaking from inside! The walls and furniture were still decorated with intricate Japanese designs, but the whole structure was definitely westernized, from the painted wooden doors to the large staircase that snaked against one wall leading to what seemed to be a second floor.
Resilient footsteps interrupted Kaoru's thoughts. She turned to see a tall and beautiful raven-haired woman.
"I heard you wanted to speak to Ken-san," the woman inquired.
Kaoru knitted her brows slightly in confusion. "Ken-san?"
The woman laughed, it was a hearty laughter that filled even the vast main hall.
"Oh, I meant Himura-sama, I call him Ken-san," the woman explained.
"Oh…" Kaoru mouthed, nodding her head slowly, but confusion was still written all over her features. Could this woman be his… wife?
As if reading Kaoru's thoughts, the woman laughed again.
"I'm Megumi Takani. I'm only a doctor in this mansion, although I wouldn't complain if I'd be more important to Ken-san than that," Megumi explained with a slight giggle and a blush. Then, as if realizing she had said a little too much, she waived her hand lightly.
Kaoru smiled. "I'm Kaoru Yamakawa, and yes, I do have something to speak with Mr. Himura."
"Ken-san just stepped out a moment ago, and I don't know when he will be back," Megumi answered. "You can wait here if you want," she added with a slight smile.
"I see, he must be on that carriage I saw earlier."
Out of habit, Megumi tossed her dark hair over her slender shoulders. "Well, if that's the case, let me give you a little tour of the house. I'm not doing anything, and with a place as big as this, it's easy to die of boredom."
Nodding slightly, Kaoru fell in step beside Megumi.
"The guards are rather nice, they let me in without any questions," Kaoru began, hoping to start a friendly conversation.
Megumi looked at her briefly and laughed. "I guess you could say they are used to it. You see, Ken-san might not look like it, but he's a very generous man. It's almost a daily occurrence for someone to come in and ask for all kinds of help, although they don't dare speak to Ken-san directly."
Kaoru almost face faulted. "N-nani? So that guard thought I was here begging for help? Grrr! I'd like to punch his lights out!" Kaoru raged, then sobered immediately. "What do you mean they don't dare talk to him? Is he THAT scary?"
Megumi gave a slight shrug. "I guess you could say Ken-san is not very… friendly, I suppose."
"Oh," was all Kaoru could say. Not very friendly, eh?
They walked in silence for the rest of the hallway, passing through a number of doors. Not too far down, a door was ajar, and inside, a rather shrill voice was heard.
Curiously, Kaoru cocked her head towards the direction, but Megumi walked forcefully, apparently recognizing the owner of the voice.
Catching up with Megumi, Kaoru could make out what the voice was saying.
"Hurry up with that! All of you are useless! You over there, take this to the laundry room. I want this cleaned within an hour!" the voice, apparently, that of a young woman's, demanded.
Megumi threw the door open and stepped slightly aside, allowing Kaoru to peer inside where a young girl about her age was standing in the middle of a room, her hands resting firmly on her hips. The girl was very pretty, with large brown eyes, her dark hair flowing past her shoulders, framing her delicate features.
"What's going in here, Aiko?" Megumi demanded, the girl whisked around and faced the dark haired doctor.
"I don't have to tell you that!" the girl called Aiko snapped.
Kaoru gritted her teeth. If she wasn't just a guest in this household, she would have slapped the girl straight to Kobei by now.
Megumi settled her hands on her hips as well and assumed an air of authority, and she did have an authority, Kaoru suspected, for the girl called Aiko only glared and stomped out of the room.
Megumi sighed after the girl was gone, and nodded to the other workers on the room, who were rather grateful.
They stepped out and once again walked in companionable silence.
Suddenly, Megumi snorted. "Just because she managed to seduce Ken-san, she thinks she's the queen."
Kaoru almost choked. "S-seduce?"
Megumi sighed. "More like Ken-san got tired of her stalking him and just gave in to silence the little b*tch."
Kaoru laughed. "But it looks like she's not up to going against you," she pointed out.
Megumi grinned. "Well, I'm rather proud that Ken-san trusts me the most out of everyone else here."
Kaoru nodded. That does seem to be the case.
Not too long after, another scream was heard. Kaoru shook her head. Apparently, the rumors about big mansions with eerie silence doesn't seem to hold true for this one.
But this time, there was also that same rumbling of wheels she had heard before.
Megumi brightened. "That must be Ken-san."
The lady doctor then turned around and traced the path from whence they came.
Just as they entered the main hall, a few men wearing uniforms came in. Judging from their uniforms, they were apparently police swordsmen. Kaoru squinted her eyes. Surely, she would recognize the Head of the Imperial Army at first glance, right?
The screaming became louder as another man came into the hall. He was smaller in stature than the others, but there was a quiet strength around him that Kaoru couldn't quite put her finger into. He didn't wear the same uniform like the other men, but instead, he wore a dark blue gi tucked inside a pair of dark trousers. He also sported a pair of boots, although the color of which she couldn't quite guess because of his current state. His unbound hair was flame red, although there were dark smudges of… mud!
And then she understood why his attire was overall dark, and the screaming… he effortlessly carried a boy no older than 10 years. The boy was covered in mud, and was struggling to his heart's content, sending patches of mud all over the place, and the man carrying him.
"Let me go! I don't need any help from you!" the boy shouted. The man carrying him didn't even utter a single word, but continued to walk into the hall.
The young boy continued to kick and holler, and at last, managing to twist from the man's grasp on his yukata, he planted a kick smack on the man's abdomen. The red-haired man was by no means affected by the kick, but he dropped the boy rather harshly on the floor and stood menacingly over him.
This man might not be a giant like Gohei, Kaoru thought, but the word 'danger' is just simply written all over him. Kaoru couldn't see much of his features behind the smudges of mud, but she could barely make out the glint of his eyes beneath feathery crimson bangs… amber eyes.
Kaoru stood watching, almost frozen. Amber eyes… why did it make her blood turn cold all of a sudden? It was as if she had seen those eyes before…
But there was no time to think about that now, for before she could regain her composure, the man had drawn out his sword and was holding it over the now frightened boy, ready to strike.
And there was no time to be frightened either. Almost by reflex, she had thrown herself between the man and the boy before she could understand what she was doing.
"You're in the way," the man stated calmly in a low voice… cold and emotionless.
Gathering her courage, Kaoru lifted her chin up. "What are you doing?! Murdering a child in cold blood! You're a devil! Monster!" Kaoru shouted, her rage was so intense now that she didn't notice that all the people in the hall had fallen silent and were staring at her in shock.
"I am not going to kill him," the cold voice spoke again.
Kaoru clenched her fists. "I see. So just frighten him, huh? Well that's just as cold hearted!" she screeched.
"No," came the short answer, as the sword was slowly lowered.
By then, the servants of the mansion had slowly retreated, fearful for the fate of the girl who had stood so defiantly against their master.
Kaoru closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to come… but it never came.
She cracked one eye open, and then widened both her eyes in surprise. The tip of the sword grazed against the boy's wrists, and then slid to cut the heavy ropes that bound them.
Kaoru fell on her rear, in relief, or shame for her outburst, she wasn't quite sure.
The man then just as calmly sheathed his sword and motioned for one of the girls who were eagerly waiting for his orders.
"Take care of the boy," were the curt instructions.
"Hai!" the girl answered readily.
Kaoru still felt weak. All that fear must have drained her energy, and all for naught! Waiting for her heartbeat to calm down, she felt something squirm under her.
"Get off me, ugly!" Kaoru sprung to her feet faster than the eye could blink.
"What did you call me?!" she demanded, baring some rather uncharacteristic fangs.
"I said UGLY!" the boy shouted back, making a face.
Kaoru grabbed the boy by his yukata.
"You ungrateful brat! I just saved your hide from being sliced to pieces if you must know!"
"And who said I wanted your help! I'm Yahiko Miyojin from a long line of Samurai and I could have beaten that guy up without your help! You ugly raccoon girl! "
"What did you call me?!"
"You heard me! Racoon!"
Kaoru, noticing that her kimono was now covered in mud as well, courtesy of the damn brat of course, rolled her sleeves up.
"YAHIKO!!!"
And thus began the chase around the hall… and around rather stunned (and shocked) servants.
Kenshin stood halfway on the stairs and watched as the two chase each other down the hall…
Gazing up, Megumi watched her dear Ken-san intently… was it just the light? Or did his eyes flicker briefly into violet?
:::::::::::::::::
A/N: Ok, I think this chapter was a bit longer than the other two, so I don't' know, maybe I'll just take a little time off coz I've got so many homework to do. I'll try to find time to write the next one soon, though. I mean, I'd like to make the chapters as long as you like, but unfortunately, I don't have that much time in hand.
Anyway, I'm planning on inserting a little Sano/Megumi bias here too, although I've yet to introduce Sano, maybe on the next chap.
And about Kaoru's last name here, I made it up coz I really don't know Okami's last name, if you know it (or if there's one) please let me know. But she will be Kaoru Kamiya once she remembers her past though, so don't worry.
And yeah, I know, I've got a lot to explain about this chap, but let's leave those for the next.
ALSO, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! You know how reviews can make an author happy, so please make me happy. It's just a click away, after all.
And Nim, don't worry, I think we have the same opinion on heroines, afterall, my favorite anime heroine ever is that kick-@$$ sorceress Lina Inverse from Slayers, and she's probably the feistiest as heroines go, ne?
Disclaimer: Why do I even bother with this, nobody even reads them! But don't wanna be sued, so…. I don't own RK blah blah blah.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::FATED MEETING:::::
Kaoru gingerly approached the gate. A few men in uniforms were standing guard at the entrance. They didn't look too menacing, but Kaoru still hesitated. What was she supposed to say? Just say 'Hey, I'd like to talk to the Lord of Imperial Army coz my dead mother told me so'. That doesn't sound quite right.
Just as she was about to clear her throat to speak, a distant rumbling of wheels was heard. The guards moved quickly to open the gate and an elegant carriage whist past.
Kaoru stepped back and waited until the cloud of dust the carriage left behind settled on the ground. The guards closed the gate again. Apparently, they haven't noticed her yet.
"Excuse me," she began.
One of the uniformed men turned, but before she could open her mouth to speak again, the guard nodded and opened a smaller portion of the gate and motioned for her to come in.
Kaoru blinked, then shrugged. If she didn't have to explain why she was here, then that would be for the better.
Stepping over the threshold, Kaoru walked towards the mansion, which was only a short distance from the gates. Once again, the feeling of being so small amidst such a huge place came back, but she shrugged it off confidently. She would just ask this Kenshin Himura if he knew her mother, if he says no, then she's out. It's that simple, she reassured herself.
Approaching the house, she noticed a man standing on the front door with a rather stiff posture. Kaoru sighed. Rich people sure are pretty weird.
"May I help you?" the man asked in a rather formal voice.
"I-I would like to speak to Mr. Kenshin Himura please," she blurted out.
The man frowned slightly at her casually mentioning his master's name without proper address, but then his expression quickly went back to a stoic mask.
"This way please," the man answered politely, opening the double doors and motioning for her to come in.
Kaoru stepped in and found herself standing before a huge, dome-like main hall. Breathing in awe, Kaoru allowed her eyes to roam over the large hall. The house had been impressive from outside, but it's absolutely breathtaking from inside! The walls and furniture were still decorated with intricate Japanese designs, but the whole structure was definitely westernized, from the painted wooden doors to the large staircase that snaked against one wall leading to what seemed to be a second floor.
Resilient footsteps interrupted Kaoru's thoughts. She turned to see a tall and beautiful raven-haired woman.
"I heard you wanted to speak to Ken-san," the woman inquired.
Kaoru knitted her brows slightly in confusion. "Ken-san?"
The woman laughed, it was a hearty laughter that filled even the vast main hall.
"Oh, I meant Himura-sama, I call him Ken-san," the woman explained.
"Oh…" Kaoru mouthed, nodding her head slowly, but confusion was still written all over her features. Could this woman be his… wife?
As if reading Kaoru's thoughts, the woman laughed again.
"I'm Megumi Takani. I'm only a doctor in this mansion, although I wouldn't complain if I'd be more important to Ken-san than that," Megumi explained with a slight giggle and a blush. Then, as if realizing she had said a little too much, she waived her hand lightly.
Kaoru smiled. "I'm Kaoru Yamakawa, and yes, I do have something to speak with Mr. Himura."
"Ken-san just stepped out a moment ago, and I don't know when he will be back," Megumi answered. "You can wait here if you want," she added with a slight smile.
"I see, he must be on that carriage I saw earlier."
Out of habit, Megumi tossed her dark hair over her slender shoulders. "Well, if that's the case, let me give you a little tour of the house. I'm not doing anything, and with a place as big as this, it's easy to die of boredom."
Nodding slightly, Kaoru fell in step beside Megumi.
"The guards are rather nice, they let me in without any questions," Kaoru began, hoping to start a friendly conversation.
Megumi looked at her briefly and laughed. "I guess you could say they are used to it. You see, Ken-san might not look like it, but he's a very generous man. It's almost a daily occurrence for someone to come in and ask for all kinds of help, although they don't dare speak to Ken-san directly."
Kaoru almost face faulted. "N-nani? So that guard thought I was here begging for help? Grrr! I'd like to punch his lights out!" Kaoru raged, then sobered immediately. "What do you mean they don't dare talk to him? Is he THAT scary?"
Megumi gave a slight shrug. "I guess you could say Ken-san is not very… friendly, I suppose."
"Oh," was all Kaoru could say. Not very friendly, eh?
They walked in silence for the rest of the hallway, passing through a number of doors. Not too far down, a door was ajar, and inside, a rather shrill voice was heard.
Curiously, Kaoru cocked her head towards the direction, but Megumi walked forcefully, apparently recognizing the owner of the voice.
Catching up with Megumi, Kaoru could make out what the voice was saying.
"Hurry up with that! All of you are useless! You over there, take this to the laundry room. I want this cleaned within an hour!" the voice, apparently, that of a young woman's, demanded.
Megumi threw the door open and stepped slightly aside, allowing Kaoru to peer inside where a young girl about her age was standing in the middle of a room, her hands resting firmly on her hips. The girl was very pretty, with large brown eyes, her dark hair flowing past her shoulders, framing her delicate features.
"What's going in here, Aiko?" Megumi demanded, the girl whisked around and faced the dark haired doctor.
"I don't have to tell you that!" the girl called Aiko snapped.
Kaoru gritted her teeth. If she wasn't just a guest in this household, she would have slapped the girl straight to Kobei by now.
Megumi settled her hands on her hips as well and assumed an air of authority, and she did have an authority, Kaoru suspected, for the girl called Aiko only glared and stomped out of the room.
Megumi sighed after the girl was gone, and nodded to the other workers on the room, who were rather grateful.
They stepped out and once again walked in companionable silence.
Suddenly, Megumi snorted. "Just because she managed to seduce Ken-san, she thinks she's the queen."
Kaoru almost choked. "S-seduce?"
Megumi sighed. "More like Ken-san got tired of her stalking him and just gave in to silence the little b*tch."
Kaoru laughed. "But it looks like she's not up to going against you," she pointed out.
Megumi grinned. "Well, I'm rather proud that Ken-san trusts me the most out of everyone else here."
Kaoru nodded. That does seem to be the case.
Not too long after, another scream was heard. Kaoru shook her head. Apparently, the rumors about big mansions with eerie silence doesn't seem to hold true for this one.
But this time, there was also that same rumbling of wheels she had heard before.
Megumi brightened. "That must be Ken-san."
The lady doctor then turned around and traced the path from whence they came.
Just as they entered the main hall, a few men wearing uniforms came in. Judging from their uniforms, they were apparently police swordsmen. Kaoru squinted her eyes. Surely, she would recognize the Head of the Imperial Army at first glance, right?
The screaming became louder as another man came into the hall. He was smaller in stature than the others, but there was a quiet strength around him that Kaoru couldn't quite put her finger into. He didn't wear the same uniform like the other men, but instead, he wore a dark blue gi tucked inside a pair of dark trousers. He also sported a pair of boots, although the color of which she couldn't quite guess because of his current state. His unbound hair was flame red, although there were dark smudges of… mud!
And then she understood why his attire was overall dark, and the screaming… he effortlessly carried a boy no older than 10 years. The boy was covered in mud, and was struggling to his heart's content, sending patches of mud all over the place, and the man carrying him.
"Let me go! I don't need any help from you!" the boy shouted. The man carrying him didn't even utter a single word, but continued to walk into the hall.
The young boy continued to kick and holler, and at last, managing to twist from the man's grasp on his yukata, he planted a kick smack on the man's abdomen. The red-haired man was by no means affected by the kick, but he dropped the boy rather harshly on the floor and stood menacingly over him.
This man might not be a giant like Gohei, Kaoru thought, but the word 'danger' is just simply written all over him. Kaoru couldn't see much of his features behind the smudges of mud, but she could barely make out the glint of his eyes beneath feathery crimson bangs… amber eyes.
Kaoru stood watching, almost frozen. Amber eyes… why did it make her blood turn cold all of a sudden? It was as if she had seen those eyes before…
But there was no time to think about that now, for before she could regain her composure, the man had drawn out his sword and was holding it over the now frightened boy, ready to strike.
And there was no time to be frightened either. Almost by reflex, she had thrown herself between the man and the boy before she could understand what she was doing.
"You're in the way," the man stated calmly in a low voice… cold and emotionless.
Gathering her courage, Kaoru lifted her chin up. "What are you doing?! Murdering a child in cold blood! You're a devil! Monster!" Kaoru shouted, her rage was so intense now that she didn't notice that all the people in the hall had fallen silent and were staring at her in shock.
"I am not going to kill him," the cold voice spoke again.
Kaoru clenched her fists. "I see. So just frighten him, huh? Well that's just as cold hearted!" she screeched.
"No," came the short answer, as the sword was slowly lowered.
By then, the servants of the mansion had slowly retreated, fearful for the fate of the girl who had stood so defiantly against their master.
Kaoru closed her eyes, waiting for the blow to come… but it never came.
She cracked one eye open, and then widened both her eyes in surprise. The tip of the sword grazed against the boy's wrists, and then slid to cut the heavy ropes that bound them.
Kaoru fell on her rear, in relief, or shame for her outburst, she wasn't quite sure.
The man then just as calmly sheathed his sword and motioned for one of the girls who were eagerly waiting for his orders.
"Take care of the boy," were the curt instructions.
"Hai!" the girl answered readily.
Kaoru still felt weak. All that fear must have drained her energy, and all for naught! Waiting for her heartbeat to calm down, she felt something squirm under her.
"Get off me, ugly!" Kaoru sprung to her feet faster than the eye could blink.
"What did you call me?!" she demanded, baring some rather uncharacteristic fangs.
"I said UGLY!" the boy shouted back, making a face.
Kaoru grabbed the boy by his yukata.
"You ungrateful brat! I just saved your hide from being sliced to pieces if you must know!"
"And who said I wanted your help! I'm Yahiko Miyojin from a long line of Samurai and I could have beaten that guy up without your help! You ugly raccoon girl! "
"What did you call me?!"
"You heard me! Racoon!"
Kaoru, noticing that her kimono was now covered in mud as well, courtesy of the damn brat of course, rolled her sleeves up.
"YAHIKO!!!"
And thus began the chase around the hall… and around rather stunned (and shocked) servants.
Kenshin stood halfway on the stairs and watched as the two chase each other down the hall…
Gazing up, Megumi watched her dear Ken-san intently… was it just the light? Or did his eyes flicker briefly into violet?
:::::::::::::::::
A/N: Ok, I think this chapter was a bit longer than the other two, so I don't' know, maybe I'll just take a little time off coz I've got so many homework to do. I'll try to find time to write the next one soon, though. I mean, I'd like to make the chapters as long as you like, but unfortunately, I don't have that much time in hand.
Anyway, I'm planning on inserting a little Sano/Megumi bias here too, although I've yet to introduce Sano, maybe on the next chap.
And about Kaoru's last name here, I made it up coz I really don't know Okami's last name, if you know it (or if there's one) please let me know. But she will be Kaoru Kamiya once she remembers her past though, so don't worry.
And yeah, I know, I've got a lot to explain about this chap, but let's leave those for the next.
ALSO, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! You know how reviews can make an author happy, so please make me happy. It's just a click away, after all.