ArtemisMoon: Yes, we are finally getting the next chapter out! It's not
Kajun Spices fault, its all mine because I have been lazy! Shame on me, I
know.I am so happy we have almost 80 reviews now though! As for reviewers,
I have to give a special thanks to me10sai, who pushed me to get this
chapter done, even if it was by rather violent means. (Runs as Me10sai
pulls out Kenshin's sakabatou again, and Kajun Spice catches on to the idea
and grabs Me10sai's baseball bat.) I guess this means my comments are over!
Acckk!
Kajun Spice: *looks at me10sai and pouts* I wanted to play with the sakabatou! But since you pushed Artemis to get this chapter done, I'll let you chase her with it. After all, not just anyone can get her writing! Good job!
Author's notes are in ( )
Thoughts are in { }
Disclaimer: Artemis - It's not my fault this chapter is so late! Really! Procrastination runs in my family! (Gets threatened with the baseball bat again.) Okay, okay! We do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. Just Koishii, so don't bother taking her. Kajun Spice - Yeah, cause Sou- chan is the only one she loves anyway! She only slept with Kenshin as a favor to Sou-chan!
Koishii
Kaoru was still sleeping deeply early the next morning (with a big smile plastered on her face, hehe), when she got a very rude awakening! Misao tackled Kaoru in her futon, and started shaking her frantically!
"What happened last night!" She demanded loudly. "You were in there SOOOO long I feel asleep waiting for you!"
"Mi.Misa.o.stop.shak.ing me!" Kaoru managed to get out in between muffled thumps as her head hit the bed. When what Kaoru said finally got through to her, she let go of Kaoru's shoulders and began glaring at her instead.
"That's better." Kaoru muttered as she sat up. "Anyway, I wasn't in there all that long!"
Misao still glared. "Who cares how long you were in there? That isn't the point! What about HER?!?!"
"Her?" Kaoru asked blankly. "Oh yeah, that's right, Koishii. Well, I found out she really isn't as bad as we thought." Her look suddenly turned dreamy. ".And Kenshin isn't either."
Misao's look turned horrified, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "You didn't! What did you do, sleep with BOTH of them?!?!?! How sick! YOU TRAITOR!"
Kaoru's eyes widened. "NO! That isn't what I."
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Misao yelled. "Everyone around here is sick! Am I the only one left who has any sense?"
Kaoru tried again. "Really Misao-chan, if you would only listen a minute."
The effort was just no use against Misao's hot temper. "Wait till I get my hands on her! She's even turned my best friend against me!"
With that announcement, the small girl ran out of the room, leaving Kaoru staring after her.
Entering the hall at such a fast speed, she collided into Soujirou with his trench coat, lump, and all! And we all know that lump wasn't just because he was happy to see her! "Ohayo Misao-chan!"
"Get out of my way, you pervert!" She shoved him to the side of the hallway and kept on running. The poor, confused boy stopped and looked down at his hands.
"Were my hands somewhere they shouldn't have been when she ran into me?" A slow smile spread across his face. "I hope so!"
Back inside the room, Kaoru was still staring at the door with a dumbfounded look. She finally found her voice. "That didn't go to well. Maybe after she cools off a little she will let me explain."
Feeling full of doubt at the idea of Misao ever really cooling off and calming down, she finally rose from her place on her futon. As she started to dress and think back over the previous night, all thoughts of Misao were soon forgotten. A dreamy look spread across her face once more, and with her lack of concentration it's surprising she managed to get all her clothing on in the right places!
(Artemis & Kajun look annoyed, cause they could have had some fun with that!)
When she finished, she exited the room with a smile on her face, only to run into Soujirou herself, who was standing there, waiting for her.
"Ohayo, Kaoru-chan!"
If possible, her smile got wider. "Ohayo!" She walked up closer and patted the lump on his chest. "Ohayo to you as well, Koishii!"
Soujirou paled a bit. "You mean you know?"
She nodded happily. "Its all thanks to Koishii that Kenshin and I." She trailed off, giggling and blushing. "That Kenshin and I.Oh, I LOVE KOISHII!"
Soujirou laughed in relief that she wasn't going to tease him about his childish attachment to the toy. "What happened? Or is it something too personal for me to know?" He asked innocently, eyebrows raised.
Her face darkened and she glared at him. "Don't push you're luck. We did not do ANYTHING like that!"
Soujirou backed up a few steps and sweat dropped. "I was only joking Kaoru- chan!"
Kaoru calmed down slightly, and suddenly remembered that Soujirou had been waiting for her. "That's right, did you want something? You were waiting for me."
Soujirou's constant smile seemed to fade a bit. "Hai. You see, I wanted to ask you about Mi."
"Ohayo!" Another voice called out as Kenshin's door slid open. Kenshin stood there smiling brightly, and a very grumpy looking Yahiko was behind him. The young boy was rubbing a large bump on his head, grumbling under his breath.
Kaoru immediately began to blush, but also gave him a questioning look. She had completely forgotten her conversation with Soujirou already. "Were you in bed this late? That isn't like you."
Kenshin shook his head. "Iie. Sessha was checking on Yahiko. He has quite a bump on his head de gozaru na."
Kaoru suddenly gasped. "I forgot all about that! Are you okay Yahiko?"
"Am I ever okay after you come anywhere near me busu?" His annoyed look suddenly turned to one of confusion. "Wait, you never ask me if I'm okay. Maybe I should be asking you! Who are you and what have you done with the real busu?" Yahiko started laughing at his own joke.
Surprisingly enough, Kaoru didn't get angry, but instead chose to ignore the joke. "I'm in a good mood this morning! You know, I think I will cook breakfast for everyone!"
"NO!" Three voices protested in unison.
Kaoru's face turned stormy. "And.why.not?"
Kenshin sweat dropped and tried to think of an excuse. He figured after last night, he was the least likely one to get killed. At worst, she would probably only injure him severely. "Sessha wants to make Kaoru something special!" He blurted out.
The dark look on her face vanished like magic! "How sweet Kenshin! What are you going to make me?"
Kenshin's eyes darted around nervously, trying to think of something! "Umm.sessha can't tell! It's a surprise!" He mentally kicked himself. {Not only will it be a surprise to her, but to me too! I don't know how to cook anything that I haven't cooked before!}
Soujirou finally figured out exactly what the problem was. "Don't worry Kaoru-chan. He has a great surprise in mind for you, and I am going to help him. You can't watch, so why don't you go and practice a little with Yahiko while we cook?"
He pushed a very happy Kaoru down the hall, and a very disgusted Yahiko followed her. After they left, Kenshin stared at Soujirou hopefully. "Please tell sessha you have an idea! Sessha has already cooked everything I know how to cook do gozaru!"
Soujirou smiled brightly. "Of course I do! I want to make something special for Misao-chan as well. She seemed a bit angry with me this morning. I also want to return the favor after she made me such a special treat yesterday!"
Kenshin started to look worried as he remembered the evil looking rice animal from the day before. "You don't mean.we are going to make those do you?"
"Why not?"
"ORO!" Kenshin started mentally making out a will. {Sessha will leave his Sakabatou to me10sai.Iie! If sessha does that, it may result in more stories like this! Bad idea de gozaru!}
*****
Kaoru and Yahiko were both sitting at the small table, waiting for Kenshin and Soujirou, who were still in the kitchen. The former one was waiting with more eagerness than anyone ever does for her cooking! (Big shock!)
"What could be taking them so long?" She grumbled. "I want to see my surprise!"
Yahiko yawned widely. "We can't eat without the weasel girl, can we? Where is she anyway?"
Kaoru frowned. "I don't know. She ran off this morning and I haven't seen her since. We had a misunderstanding and..."
"We're finished!" Soujirou called cheerfully from the kitchen. Kenshin was suspiciously quiet. "Has Misao-chan shown up yet?"
The two men walked in with covered trays, and Kaoru waved off the question. "I'm sure she'll show up soon! Let's eat now!"
Soujirou was uncertain, and it showed plainly on his face. He had worked so hard on his surprise for Misao, and now she wasn't even here to see it! "But I was hoping." His voice trailed off.
"Don't worry, sessha is sure Misao-dono will show up soon de gozaru na." Kenshin assured him quietly. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn't want to pry.
The younger man smiled. "I'm sure you're right. Why don't you give Kaoru- chan what you made?"
Kenshin gulped. "You mean sessha has to?"
The object of his affection and his special surprise was getting impatient. "Just let me see it Kenshin no baka!"
"You asked for it." He muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" Kaoru asked.
"NOTHING!" He squeaked, and quickly set the tray in front of her.
She hurriedly pulled the piece of the cloth off the tray and stared at the contents. "What is it?"
Kenshin and Soujirou sweat dropped. When Kenshin didn't answer, Soujirou finally did. "Its you of course."
"ME?!?! That.that.THING is me?" She looked up at Kenshin, and the worry on his face increased tenfold. The man has good reason to be scared! The little rice animal had large eyes, and of all things, a little carrot bokken. Its expression wasn't all that friendly either.
"Ken.shin."
"Oro!"
A small fight broke out, mostly of Kaoru strangling Kenshin, although she did try using the carrot bokken on him. The damage wasn't enough for her liking though, so that's when she started strangling him. During all this, Soujirou wasn't paying a bit of attention. He looked at the tray in his hands dejectedly. A small sigh escaped him, and he set the tray down on the table with a soft click. Not even bothering to try and help Kenshin, he walked off.
Kaoru stopped what she was doing, much to Kenshin's relief, and watched him leave. "Is something wrong with him?"
Kenshin rubbed the fingerprints on his neck and then started picking carrot pieces out of his hair. "He's probably upset because Misao-dono didn't show up. He made something for her, and well." He turned his eyes to the tray on the table.
Feeling curious, Kaoru uncovered the contents. "It.it.looks like Koishii!" She gasped softly. It had little teddy bear ears and everything. Soujirou had obviously worked very hard on it.
Kenshin nodded. "He finally decided he would tell Misao-dono about her."
"Poor Sou-chan! Isn't there anything we can do to help?"
"Iie, we shouldn't get involved anymore. They need to work it out for themselves."
Kaoru nodded reluctantly, and stared at the Koishii rice animal with a sad look.
"Please don't look like that." Kenshin said softly as he moved to stand in front of her. "It makes me feel sad as well." He put one of his hands on her left cheek, the caress making her smile slightly. "If we could work things out as confused as we were, I am sure they will."
Things were quiet for several moments, as the two got lost in their own little world.
"AHEM!" Yahiko loudly cleared his throat. In all the commotion, his presence had been forgotten. Kaoru and Kenshin jumped apart guiltily, their faced flushed a bright red!
Yahiko looked half-amused and half-angry. "I hate to ruin the moment, but I have to know.WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!"
Kaoru and Kenshin glanced at each other, and then back to the angry boy in front of them. "You don't want to know!" They said in unison.
Yahiko sweat dropped.
ArtemisMoon: (Panting after being chased by her angry friends) Yikes, that was a hard chapter to write! Especially while running! Anyway, I hope you guys all like it, and again I am so sorry about the delay. The next chapter will be out quicker, I promise! I love hearing your comments! This story is coming to a close though. There will probably be only one or two chapters at most left. We were hoping to make it a bit longer, but I am not sure we can draw it out that long. ^_^
Kajun Spice: Attack of the rice animals again! Is anyone else noticing this trend in ArtemisMoon's stories? I think we should appoint them as her official mascot!
Kajun Spice: *looks at me10sai and pouts* I wanted to play with the sakabatou! But since you pushed Artemis to get this chapter done, I'll let you chase her with it. After all, not just anyone can get her writing! Good job!
Author's notes are in ( )
Thoughts are in { }
Disclaimer: Artemis - It's not my fault this chapter is so late! Really! Procrastination runs in my family! (Gets threatened with the baseball bat again.) Okay, okay! We do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. Just Koishii, so don't bother taking her. Kajun Spice - Yeah, cause Sou- chan is the only one she loves anyway! She only slept with Kenshin as a favor to Sou-chan!
Koishii
Kaoru was still sleeping deeply early the next morning (with a big smile plastered on her face, hehe), when she got a very rude awakening! Misao tackled Kaoru in her futon, and started shaking her frantically!
"What happened last night!" She demanded loudly. "You were in there SOOOO long I feel asleep waiting for you!"
"Mi.Misa.o.stop.shak.ing me!" Kaoru managed to get out in between muffled thumps as her head hit the bed. When what Kaoru said finally got through to her, she let go of Kaoru's shoulders and began glaring at her instead.
"That's better." Kaoru muttered as she sat up. "Anyway, I wasn't in there all that long!"
Misao still glared. "Who cares how long you were in there? That isn't the point! What about HER?!?!"
"Her?" Kaoru asked blankly. "Oh yeah, that's right, Koishii. Well, I found out she really isn't as bad as we thought." Her look suddenly turned dreamy. ".And Kenshin isn't either."
Misao's look turned horrified, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "You didn't! What did you do, sleep with BOTH of them?!?!?! How sick! YOU TRAITOR!"
Kaoru's eyes widened. "NO! That isn't what I."
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Misao yelled. "Everyone around here is sick! Am I the only one left who has any sense?"
Kaoru tried again. "Really Misao-chan, if you would only listen a minute."
The effort was just no use against Misao's hot temper. "Wait till I get my hands on her! She's even turned my best friend against me!"
With that announcement, the small girl ran out of the room, leaving Kaoru staring after her.
Entering the hall at such a fast speed, she collided into Soujirou with his trench coat, lump, and all! And we all know that lump wasn't just because he was happy to see her! "Ohayo Misao-chan!"
"Get out of my way, you pervert!" She shoved him to the side of the hallway and kept on running. The poor, confused boy stopped and looked down at his hands.
"Were my hands somewhere they shouldn't have been when she ran into me?" A slow smile spread across his face. "I hope so!"
Back inside the room, Kaoru was still staring at the door with a dumbfounded look. She finally found her voice. "That didn't go to well. Maybe after she cools off a little she will let me explain."
Feeling full of doubt at the idea of Misao ever really cooling off and calming down, she finally rose from her place on her futon. As she started to dress and think back over the previous night, all thoughts of Misao were soon forgotten. A dreamy look spread across her face once more, and with her lack of concentration it's surprising she managed to get all her clothing on in the right places!
(Artemis & Kajun look annoyed, cause they could have had some fun with that!)
When she finished, she exited the room with a smile on her face, only to run into Soujirou herself, who was standing there, waiting for her.
"Ohayo, Kaoru-chan!"
If possible, her smile got wider. "Ohayo!" She walked up closer and patted the lump on his chest. "Ohayo to you as well, Koishii!"
Soujirou paled a bit. "You mean you know?"
She nodded happily. "Its all thanks to Koishii that Kenshin and I." She trailed off, giggling and blushing. "That Kenshin and I.Oh, I LOVE KOISHII!"
Soujirou laughed in relief that she wasn't going to tease him about his childish attachment to the toy. "What happened? Or is it something too personal for me to know?" He asked innocently, eyebrows raised.
Her face darkened and she glared at him. "Don't push you're luck. We did not do ANYTHING like that!"
Soujirou backed up a few steps and sweat dropped. "I was only joking Kaoru- chan!"
Kaoru calmed down slightly, and suddenly remembered that Soujirou had been waiting for her. "That's right, did you want something? You were waiting for me."
Soujirou's constant smile seemed to fade a bit. "Hai. You see, I wanted to ask you about Mi."
"Ohayo!" Another voice called out as Kenshin's door slid open. Kenshin stood there smiling brightly, and a very grumpy looking Yahiko was behind him. The young boy was rubbing a large bump on his head, grumbling under his breath.
Kaoru immediately began to blush, but also gave him a questioning look. She had completely forgotten her conversation with Soujirou already. "Were you in bed this late? That isn't like you."
Kenshin shook his head. "Iie. Sessha was checking on Yahiko. He has quite a bump on his head de gozaru na."
Kaoru suddenly gasped. "I forgot all about that! Are you okay Yahiko?"
"Am I ever okay after you come anywhere near me busu?" His annoyed look suddenly turned to one of confusion. "Wait, you never ask me if I'm okay. Maybe I should be asking you! Who are you and what have you done with the real busu?" Yahiko started laughing at his own joke.
Surprisingly enough, Kaoru didn't get angry, but instead chose to ignore the joke. "I'm in a good mood this morning! You know, I think I will cook breakfast for everyone!"
"NO!" Three voices protested in unison.
Kaoru's face turned stormy. "And.why.not?"
Kenshin sweat dropped and tried to think of an excuse. He figured after last night, he was the least likely one to get killed. At worst, she would probably only injure him severely. "Sessha wants to make Kaoru something special!" He blurted out.
The dark look on her face vanished like magic! "How sweet Kenshin! What are you going to make me?"
Kenshin's eyes darted around nervously, trying to think of something! "Umm.sessha can't tell! It's a surprise!" He mentally kicked himself. {Not only will it be a surprise to her, but to me too! I don't know how to cook anything that I haven't cooked before!}
Soujirou finally figured out exactly what the problem was. "Don't worry Kaoru-chan. He has a great surprise in mind for you, and I am going to help him. You can't watch, so why don't you go and practice a little with Yahiko while we cook?"
He pushed a very happy Kaoru down the hall, and a very disgusted Yahiko followed her. After they left, Kenshin stared at Soujirou hopefully. "Please tell sessha you have an idea! Sessha has already cooked everything I know how to cook do gozaru!"
Soujirou smiled brightly. "Of course I do! I want to make something special for Misao-chan as well. She seemed a bit angry with me this morning. I also want to return the favor after she made me such a special treat yesterday!"
Kenshin started to look worried as he remembered the evil looking rice animal from the day before. "You don't mean.we are going to make those do you?"
"Why not?"
"ORO!" Kenshin started mentally making out a will. {Sessha will leave his Sakabatou to me10sai.Iie! If sessha does that, it may result in more stories like this! Bad idea de gozaru!}
*****
Kaoru and Yahiko were both sitting at the small table, waiting for Kenshin and Soujirou, who were still in the kitchen. The former one was waiting with more eagerness than anyone ever does for her cooking! (Big shock!)
"What could be taking them so long?" She grumbled. "I want to see my surprise!"
Yahiko yawned widely. "We can't eat without the weasel girl, can we? Where is she anyway?"
Kaoru frowned. "I don't know. She ran off this morning and I haven't seen her since. We had a misunderstanding and..."
"We're finished!" Soujirou called cheerfully from the kitchen. Kenshin was suspiciously quiet. "Has Misao-chan shown up yet?"
The two men walked in with covered trays, and Kaoru waved off the question. "I'm sure she'll show up soon! Let's eat now!"
Soujirou was uncertain, and it showed plainly on his face. He had worked so hard on his surprise for Misao, and now she wasn't even here to see it! "But I was hoping." His voice trailed off.
"Don't worry, sessha is sure Misao-dono will show up soon de gozaru na." Kenshin assured him quietly. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn't want to pry.
The younger man smiled. "I'm sure you're right. Why don't you give Kaoru- chan what you made?"
Kenshin gulped. "You mean sessha has to?"
The object of his affection and his special surprise was getting impatient. "Just let me see it Kenshin no baka!"
"You asked for it." He muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" Kaoru asked.
"NOTHING!" He squeaked, and quickly set the tray in front of her.
She hurriedly pulled the piece of the cloth off the tray and stared at the contents. "What is it?"
Kenshin and Soujirou sweat dropped. When Kenshin didn't answer, Soujirou finally did. "Its you of course."
"ME?!?! That.that.THING is me?" She looked up at Kenshin, and the worry on his face increased tenfold. The man has good reason to be scared! The little rice animal had large eyes, and of all things, a little carrot bokken. Its expression wasn't all that friendly either.
"Ken.shin."
"Oro!"
A small fight broke out, mostly of Kaoru strangling Kenshin, although she did try using the carrot bokken on him. The damage wasn't enough for her liking though, so that's when she started strangling him. During all this, Soujirou wasn't paying a bit of attention. He looked at the tray in his hands dejectedly. A small sigh escaped him, and he set the tray down on the table with a soft click. Not even bothering to try and help Kenshin, he walked off.
Kaoru stopped what she was doing, much to Kenshin's relief, and watched him leave. "Is something wrong with him?"
Kenshin rubbed the fingerprints on his neck and then started picking carrot pieces out of his hair. "He's probably upset because Misao-dono didn't show up. He made something for her, and well." He turned his eyes to the tray on the table.
Feeling curious, Kaoru uncovered the contents. "It.it.looks like Koishii!" She gasped softly. It had little teddy bear ears and everything. Soujirou had obviously worked very hard on it.
Kenshin nodded. "He finally decided he would tell Misao-dono about her."
"Poor Sou-chan! Isn't there anything we can do to help?"
"Iie, we shouldn't get involved anymore. They need to work it out for themselves."
Kaoru nodded reluctantly, and stared at the Koishii rice animal with a sad look.
"Please don't look like that." Kenshin said softly as he moved to stand in front of her. "It makes me feel sad as well." He put one of his hands on her left cheek, the caress making her smile slightly. "If we could work things out as confused as we were, I am sure they will."
Things were quiet for several moments, as the two got lost in their own little world.
"AHEM!" Yahiko loudly cleared his throat. In all the commotion, his presence had been forgotten. Kaoru and Kenshin jumped apart guiltily, their faced flushed a bright red!
Yahiko looked half-amused and half-angry. "I hate to ruin the moment, but I have to know.WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE!!!!!!"
Kaoru and Kenshin glanced at each other, and then back to the angry boy in front of them. "You don't want to know!" They said in unison.
Yahiko sweat dropped.
ArtemisMoon: (Panting after being chased by her angry friends) Yikes, that was a hard chapter to write! Especially while running! Anyway, I hope you guys all like it, and again I am so sorry about the delay. The next chapter will be out quicker, I promise! I love hearing your comments! This story is coming to a close though. There will probably be only one or two chapters at most left. We were hoping to make it a bit longer, but I am not sure we can draw it out that long. ^_^
Kajun Spice: Attack of the rice animals again! Is anyone else noticing this trend in ArtemisMoon's stories? I think we should appoint them as her official mascot!