*********
Chapter Seventeen; Phantom Scar
*********
"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple." ~ Oscare Wilde.
*********
*AN* About the Kaoru/Hiko thing, sorry folks but I'm a closet Kaoru/Hiko fan!Sorry, but Hiko knows when to step back. They're intimate but there's actually very little going on between them. Hiko and Kaoru were lovers for a very short time, actually Hiko probably only did it so Kaoru could remember that people actually did that sort of thing for -fun-. I mean, look at Megumi.
*********
Enishi was positive he hadn't heard them right.
Of all things to drag him away from his chores to ask, why would they want to know -that-?
"You want to know ... what?" he asked just to be sure he'd heard the correct question.
Hiko, Misao, and Aoshi nodded as one.
"You heard right, Enishi." Aoshi confirmed. "We would like to know if Kaoru-san had her scar when you met her?"
Enishi scratched the back of his head. "Uh.... that's an awfully personal story guys. Why do you want to know?"
"Hiko-san says that she had it when he met her eight years ago, and it struck me as odd that it wouldn't have faded away by now." Aoshi explained. "It's been almost a decade. I've also noticed that she touches it when she becomes thoughtful or depressed; especially if you are in the area."
Enishi hung his head and sat down on the veranda. "You might as well sit down. It's a strange story, and sometimes I even wonder if I just made it up when I was a kid and started to believe it over the years."
Misao shuddered and held onto Aoshi's arm. "I-is it a ghost story, I hate ghost stories!"
"Kaoru-san is hardly dead." Aoshi told her and awkwardly sat down beside Enishi. Hiko followed suit. "Please tell this story."
The white haired boy saighed and rubbed his arm. "Well, I guess the story starts with my sister and her husband. My sister is married to Battousai the Hitokiri."
Misao whistled appreciatively. "Wow, you know some people don't you?"
"Feh." Hiko sulked, but he was ignored.
"My Brother in Law was the most feared assassin during the Bakumatsu and he killed many men, one of those men was named Akira and he had been engaged to my sister. He had become a Bodyguard to one of the Shogun's vassals so as to impress Tomoe because he thought she didn't love him, but she did. Tomoe was never very demonstrative with her emotions. When Akira died, Tomoe quietly packed up her things and went to Kyoto to get revenge on the man who had murdered him." he leaned back against the outer wall of the house. "I was very attatched to my sister when I was young, she was practically the only Family I had since our mother died when I was only a baby and our father lost it somewhat when she died. anyway, eventually I managed to follow her and discovered that she had hooked up with some Shogunate mercenaries to kill Battousai. She was to get close to him and discover his weakness... only as time went by, she -became- his weakness."
"He fell in love with her?" Misao sighed with stars in her eyes. "That's so-o-o romantic, ne Aoshi-sama?"
Aoshi stoicically ignored that.
"and she with him." Enishi agreed. "It was ironic really. At the time I thought I hated him, but I realize now that I felt more betrayed by Tomoe. I had been willing to tolerate Akira for Tomoe's sake and had been angry on her behalf when he died but when she went and fell in love the man she was -supposed- to hate." he shook his head. "The heart has it's reasons, of which reason knows nothing..."
"Shakespeare." Aoshi agreed.
"Yeah." Enishi scratched his cheek and continued. "After that the shogun's men kidnapped Tomoe and took her to a forest that was sitting on a deposit of magnetized ore that killed a swordsmen's sixth sense, it was called the Forest of Barriers. Naturally my brother in law went after her and killed the men one by one, but as they died they did thing to his eyes and ears so that by the time he reached the strongest one who had Tomoe he was half-deaf, half-blind, and half-mad. He didn't stop though, he kept fighting even though by then he'd discovered that Tomoe had been sent to kill him; he loved her that much."
Hiko raised an eyebrow.
"They fought and Kenshin, that's the name he uses now, nearly died. At the last moment he rallied, but Tomoe picked that moment to pull a dagger and go for his opponent. If no one had interfered then Kenshin's sword would have gone through her and into the mercenary. That's when Kamiya-sensei appeared. She ran out of the forest and knocked Tomoe out of the way. I was there in the trees watching the whole thing. She covered Tomoe's body with her own and got doused by the rain splurting out of the man's body. Kenshin passed out then from his wounds and Kamiya-sensei let Tomoe up to go see to him, I ran from the forest."
"What happened after that?" Misao pressed.
Enishi blinked and blushed. "Ah, well... she followed me. I guess she might have glimpsed me in the trees and known that I saw the entire fight. So she went after me to keep me from doing something stupid." he reached up and touched a lock of his shock white hair. "My hair wasn't always this color and I don't bleach it. When she caught me, I went crazy and pulled a tanto on her. She knocked it out of my hand and then... then the strangest thing happened..." he trailed off.
"What?" Hiko demanded.
"Our eyes met and suddenly I didn't know why I'd been so angry. Then a bruise started darkening on her left cheek only no one had hit her there and it went from yellow to nearly black in mere seconds. It was in the shape of the cross that's still there today. The bruise suddenly turned into an open cut and then knitted and became the scar. While that happened my hair turned white." he ran his hand through his hair. "We just stood there staring at each other for a long time and then she offered me her hand and said; 'Tomoe is going to need help getting your Brother in Law back to the house.' After that we went down and carried him home. She left again before Kenshin woke up and didn't come back until Katsura had called him back to duty." he looked away. "I haven't been able to hate Kenshin since that day."
Silence reigned.
Everyone jumped as he shijo screen beside them slid open and Kaoru stuck her head out. "Hey! Why the long faces?" she chirped. "Megumi and I made an-pan! Hurry and get some before Yahiko and Kaori eat it all!"
*AN* An-pan is a sweet japanese bread roll filled with An (a coarse, yet sweet azuki paste). Azuki paste is made with the same red bean that is used to make o-hagi which is a rice ball covered in An. They're both all time favorite snacks, but they don't keep long and aren't usually available outside of japan unless you make it yourself. I have the recipe for O-hagi if any of you RK otakus out there wants it! Japanese cook books rock!
She glanced around when she realized that everyone on the veranda was staring at her. "What?" she asked and looked down at her clothes. "Do I have something on my gi?"
There was a slow, sullen shaking of heads with much eye diverting and Kaoru put her hands on her hips. "All right, what did you guys do?" she asked tiredly.
"Noth, Kaoru-san." aoshi got to his feet and dusted himself off. "I think I shall go get some of that an pan."
"Wait for me Aoshi-sama?" Misao pranced after him.
"I'm going to get some sake'." Hiko told Kaoru and left the house.
That left Enishi who looked guilty to beat all, Kaoru sat down next to him. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
He shook his head. "Not really, but they were asking some questions... it's nothing really."
"Oh." Kaoru nodded. "If that;s the case then go inside and get your an-pan before it's gone."
"Right."
Enishi couldn't see, but as she watched him go Kaoru's hand crept up as of it's own free will to trace the lines of her scar.
All of a sudden she wasn't feeling so cheerful anymore. "Mou." she huffed to herself. "I'm going to go finish up the dishes! You all can have mine." she called inside.
There were a few muffled protests but they were lost in the scuffle to claim her share.
As she wandered into the garden she felt Raven materialize beside her.
"Oi, chica. News Flash." she chirped.
Kaoru glanced over at raven, who was today in a pair of black gi and hakama. Her ever present skull was emblazoned on the back. "Cute out-fit." she complimented the woman.
Raven grinned. "Isn't it though? Make sure you take your band to Izu with the Oniwabanshuu, remember what happens there?"
Kaoru's face fell. "Oh, right. Raijuta, I'd forgotten about that kingdom-building sociopath. How long do we have?"
"Oh months." Raven waved a hand. "I just thought you might like to get a head start before things came to a head... or a slaughter as the case may be."
Kaoru levered herself down onto one of the garden stones. "Spill, Raven. What do you know?"
Raven giggled and sat down beside her. "Well, I thought you might drop a little hint to Saitou, you know?"
An ironice grin tugged at Kaoru's lips. "Go on, I understand."
***
The an oan didn't last very long, especially with three hungry preteens for the adults to contend with.
Luckily for Aoshi he'd never had much of a sweet tooth and just one was more than enough. He noticed, with disapproval, that Misao got three.
'She'll work it off, no doubt.' he chided himself. 'With all the running about and jumping she does three an-pans don't stand a chance of making her fat... still, perhaps I should have a word with her. She isn't an active member of the Oniwabanshuu but she should always be ready for combat.'
Of course, the an-pan had been very good; a testament to Kaoru-san's inspired cooking. Although he knew better then to tell her so.
'I wonder why she always gets that annoyed expression when someone compliments her cooking?'
He was startled out of his thought when Misao tugged on his sleeve.
"Yes?"
Misao grinned. "I'm going to head back to the apartments now before it gets dark, I'm not in the mood to beat up muggers and pick pockets." she told him. "I'm going to write a letter to Jiya tonight, is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"
"Nothing that I can't send with by pigeon." Aoshi assured her. "Take Shikijo with you, he's had enough to drink." he ordered with a cool look in the Body builder's direction, who was on his third bottle of sake.
"Hai!" and she bounded off to leave Aoshi to his musings... or rather, to allow Kaoru-san to approach him.
"Aoshi-san? May I have a word with you outside?" she asked quietly.
Aoshi nodded and followed her to the veranda. "What is it?" he asked as she shut the shoji, barely blocking out the low din of good-natured companionship.
"About that trip to Izu." she started and Aoshi exhaled slowly.
"You are not about to inform me of something going on there that you're going to go fix, are you?" he asked in mild annoyance.
Kaoru-san blushed and nodded embarrassedly.
"So we'll be missing out on our vacation?"
Then Kaoru grinned and Aoshi felt a small sense fo foreboding. When that woman smiled the way she was now, it always boded ill for someone. "Not if we take a few percautions."
Aoshi shook his head and sat down. "All right, tell me what you have planned."
***********
End Chapter Seventeen
***********
Seiyuu; wow, this fic's reviews have passed the 200 mark! Thanx you guys! The story is finaklly getting back to the action, there will still be a few more 'home' chapters before that but we now get to see Kaoru train Enishi! Heheheheh, you have no idea how long it's going to take him just to pick up the basics of Kamiya Kasshin 'Advanced' Style.... although I suppose there is a so
Chapter Seventeen; Phantom Scar
*********
"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple." ~ Oscare Wilde.
*********
*AN* About the Kaoru/Hiko thing, sorry folks but I'm a closet Kaoru/Hiko fan!Sorry, but Hiko knows when to step back. They're intimate but there's actually very little going on between them. Hiko and Kaoru were lovers for a very short time, actually Hiko probably only did it so Kaoru could remember that people actually did that sort of thing for -fun-. I mean, look at Megumi.
*********
Enishi was positive he hadn't heard them right.
Of all things to drag him away from his chores to ask, why would they want to know -that-?
"You want to know ... what?" he asked just to be sure he'd heard the correct question.
Hiko, Misao, and Aoshi nodded as one.
"You heard right, Enishi." Aoshi confirmed. "We would like to know if Kaoru-san had her scar when you met her?"
Enishi scratched the back of his head. "Uh.... that's an awfully personal story guys. Why do you want to know?"
"Hiko-san says that she had it when he met her eight years ago, and it struck me as odd that it wouldn't have faded away by now." Aoshi explained. "It's been almost a decade. I've also noticed that she touches it when she becomes thoughtful or depressed; especially if you are in the area."
Enishi hung his head and sat down on the veranda. "You might as well sit down. It's a strange story, and sometimes I even wonder if I just made it up when I was a kid and started to believe it over the years."
Misao shuddered and held onto Aoshi's arm. "I-is it a ghost story, I hate ghost stories!"
"Kaoru-san is hardly dead." Aoshi told her and awkwardly sat down beside Enishi. Hiko followed suit. "Please tell this story."
The white haired boy saighed and rubbed his arm. "Well, I guess the story starts with my sister and her husband. My sister is married to Battousai the Hitokiri."
Misao whistled appreciatively. "Wow, you know some people don't you?"
"Feh." Hiko sulked, but he was ignored.
"My Brother in Law was the most feared assassin during the Bakumatsu and he killed many men, one of those men was named Akira and he had been engaged to my sister. He had become a Bodyguard to one of the Shogun's vassals so as to impress Tomoe because he thought she didn't love him, but she did. Tomoe was never very demonstrative with her emotions. When Akira died, Tomoe quietly packed up her things and went to Kyoto to get revenge on the man who had murdered him." he leaned back against the outer wall of the house. "I was very attatched to my sister when I was young, she was practically the only Family I had since our mother died when I was only a baby and our father lost it somewhat when she died. anyway, eventually I managed to follow her and discovered that she had hooked up with some Shogunate mercenaries to kill Battousai. She was to get close to him and discover his weakness... only as time went by, she -became- his weakness."
"He fell in love with her?" Misao sighed with stars in her eyes. "That's so-o-o romantic, ne Aoshi-sama?"
Aoshi stoicically ignored that.
"and she with him." Enishi agreed. "It was ironic really. At the time I thought I hated him, but I realize now that I felt more betrayed by Tomoe. I had been willing to tolerate Akira for Tomoe's sake and had been angry on her behalf when he died but when she went and fell in love the man she was -supposed- to hate." he shook his head. "The heart has it's reasons, of which reason knows nothing..."
"Shakespeare." Aoshi agreed.
"Yeah." Enishi scratched his cheek and continued. "After that the shogun's men kidnapped Tomoe and took her to a forest that was sitting on a deposit of magnetized ore that killed a swordsmen's sixth sense, it was called the Forest of Barriers. Naturally my brother in law went after her and killed the men one by one, but as they died they did thing to his eyes and ears so that by the time he reached the strongest one who had Tomoe he was half-deaf, half-blind, and half-mad. He didn't stop though, he kept fighting even though by then he'd discovered that Tomoe had been sent to kill him; he loved her that much."
Hiko raised an eyebrow.
"They fought and Kenshin, that's the name he uses now, nearly died. At the last moment he rallied, but Tomoe picked that moment to pull a dagger and go for his opponent. If no one had interfered then Kenshin's sword would have gone through her and into the mercenary. That's when Kamiya-sensei appeared. She ran out of the forest and knocked Tomoe out of the way. I was there in the trees watching the whole thing. She covered Tomoe's body with her own and got doused by the rain splurting out of the man's body. Kenshin passed out then from his wounds and Kamiya-sensei let Tomoe up to go see to him, I ran from the forest."
"What happened after that?" Misao pressed.
Enishi blinked and blushed. "Ah, well... she followed me. I guess she might have glimpsed me in the trees and known that I saw the entire fight. So she went after me to keep me from doing something stupid." he reached up and touched a lock of his shock white hair. "My hair wasn't always this color and I don't bleach it. When she caught me, I went crazy and pulled a tanto on her. She knocked it out of my hand and then... then the strangest thing happened..." he trailed off.
"What?" Hiko demanded.
"Our eyes met and suddenly I didn't know why I'd been so angry. Then a bruise started darkening on her left cheek only no one had hit her there and it went from yellow to nearly black in mere seconds. It was in the shape of the cross that's still there today. The bruise suddenly turned into an open cut and then knitted and became the scar. While that happened my hair turned white." he ran his hand through his hair. "We just stood there staring at each other for a long time and then she offered me her hand and said; 'Tomoe is going to need help getting your Brother in Law back to the house.' After that we went down and carried him home. She left again before Kenshin woke up and didn't come back until Katsura had called him back to duty." he looked away. "I haven't been able to hate Kenshin since that day."
Silence reigned.
Everyone jumped as he shijo screen beside them slid open and Kaoru stuck her head out. "Hey! Why the long faces?" she chirped. "Megumi and I made an-pan! Hurry and get some before Yahiko and Kaori eat it all!"
*AN* An-pan is a sweet japanese bread roll filled with An (a coarse, yet sweet azuki paste). Azuki paste is made with the same red bean that is used to make o-hagi which is a rice ball covered in An. They're both all time favorite snacks, but they don't keep long and aren't usually available outside of japan unless you make it yourself. I have the recipe for O-hagi if any of you RK otakus out there wants it! Japanese cook books rock!
She glanced around when she realized that everyone on the veranda was staring at her. "What?" she asked and looked down at her clothes. "Do I have something on my gi?"
There was a slow, sullen shaking of heads with much eye diverting and Kaoru put her hands on her hips. "All right, what did you guys do?" she asked tiredly.
"Noth, Kaoru-san." aoshi got to his feet and dusted himself off. "I think I shall go get some of that an pan."
"Wait for me Aoshi-sama?" Misao pranced after him.
"I'm going to get some sake'." Hiko told Kaoru and left the house.
That left Enishi who looked guilty to beat all, Kaoru sat down next to him. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
He shook his head. "Not really, but they were asking some questions... it's nothing really."
"Oh." Kaoru nodded. "If that;s the case then go inside and get your an-pan before it's gone."
"Right."
Enishi couldn't see, but as she watched him go Kaoru's hand crept up as of it's own free will to trace the lines of her scar.
All of a sudden she wasn't feeling so cheerful anymore. "Mou." she huffed to herself. "I'm going to go finish up the dishes! You all can have mine." she called inside.
There were a few muffled protests but they were lost in the scuffle to claim her share.
As she wandered into the garden she felt Raven materialize beside her.
"Oi, chica. News Flash." she chirped.
Kaoru glanced over at raven, who was today in a pair of black gi and hakama. Her ever present skull was emblazoned on the back. "Cute out-fit." she complimented the woman.
Raven grinned. "Isn't it though? Make sure you take your band to Izu with the Oniwabanshuu, remember what happens there?"
Kaoru's face fell. "Oh, right. Raijuta, I'd forgotten about that kingdom-building sociopath. How long do we have?"
"Oh months." Raven waved a hand. "I just thought you might like to get a head start before things came to a head... or a slaughter as the case may be."
Kaoru levered herself down onto one of the garden stones. "Spill, Raven. What do you know?"
Raven giggled and sat down beside her. "Well, I thought you might drop a little hint to Saitou, you know?"
An ironice grin tugged at Kaoru's lips. "Go on, I understand."
***
The an oan didn't last very long, especially with three hungry preteens for the adults to contend with.
Luckily for Aoshi he'd never had much of a sweet tooth and just one was more than enough. He noticed, with disapproval, that Misao got three.
'She'll work it off, no doubt.' he chided himself. 'With all the running about and jumping she does three an-pans don't stand a chance of making her fat... still, perhaps I should have a word with her. She isn't an active member of the Oniwabanshuu but she should always be ready for combat.'
Of course, the an-pan had been very good; a testament to Kaoru-san's inspired cooking. Although he knew better then to tell her so.
'I wonder why she always gets that annoyed expression when someone compliments her cooking?'
He was startled out of his thought when Misao tugged on his sleeve.
"Yes?"
Misao grinned. "I'm going to head back to the apartments now before it gets dark, I'm not in the mood to beat up muggers and pick pockets." she told him. "I'm going to write a letter to Jiya tonight, is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"
"Nothing that I can't send with by pigeon." Aoshi assured her. "Take Shikijo with you, he's had enough to drink." he ordered with a cool look in the Body builder's direction, who was on his third bottle of sake.
"Hai!" and she bounded off to leave Aoshi to his musings... or rather, to allow Kaoru-san to approach him.
"Aoshi-san? May I have a word with you outside?" she asked quietly.
Aoshi nodded and followed her to the veranda. "What is it?" he asked as she shut the shoji, barely blocking out the low din of good-natured companionship.
"About that trip to Izu." she started and Aoshi exhaled slowly.
"You are not about to inform me of something going on there that you're going to go fix, are you?" he asked in mild annoyance.
Kaoru-san blushed and nodded embarrassedly.
"So we'll be missing out on our vacation?"
Then Kaoru grinned and Aoshi felt a small sense fo foreboding. When that woman smiled the way she was now, it always boded ill for someone. "Not if we take a few percautions."
Aoshi shook his head and sat down. "All right, tell me what you have planned."
***********
End Chapter Seventeen
***********
Seiyuu; wow, this fic's reviews have passed the 200 mark! Thanx you guys! The story is finaklly getting back to the action, there will still be a few more 'home' chapters before that but we now get to see Kaoru train Enishi! Heheheheh, you have no idea how long it's going to take him just to pick up the basics of Kamiya Kasshin 'Advanced' Style.... although I suppose there is a so