Tanuki To Ryuu
Notice how these chapters are just popping out? I'm inspired, dagnabit!
Yutaro's reappearance will be soon, I promise!
Chapter 3- The Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu
After a week of careful constructive thinking and planning, Kenshin
finally came up with a way to watch over Kaoru as she slept. It was a rather
simple plan, actually. Kenshin settled into his normal slouching position next
to the door to Kaoru's room and rested the sakabato against his shoulder. Now
he was able to ensure no one would attack Kaoru in her sleep Of course, if such
an attack did happen, Kenshin hoped Kaoru would be far more concerned that he
saved her life than the fact that he slept right outside her room.
***
Kenshin woke up bright and early the next morning. He stood up and slid
Kaoru's bedroom door open a crack. He looked inside and saw Kaoru was still
asleep. He silently thanked whatever kami looked over him that night, then
picked up his sakabato and slid the Kaoru's door shut. When the door was
fully closed, Kenshin turned and saw Yahiko standing there with a surprised look
on his face.
"Orooo" Kenshin sighed, "Yahiko, its not what it looks like," Kenshin said
in a quiet tone.
"Geez, Kenshin," Yahiko replied with an annoyed look on his face, "Just
because I'm 10 doesn't mean I'm stupid. As long as you didn't hurt her or keep
her up all night, its fine."
Kenshin's face turned as red as his hair at Yahiko's statement, but he
decided Yahiko already made his evaluation of the situation and it was too late
to correct him. As he sighed in defeat, Kenshin quickly walked in the
direction back towards his room to change out of his sleeping attire. "Yahiko,
please let Kaoru wake up on her own, alright?" Kenshin said as he walked back
into his room.
"Alright, Kenshin!" Yahiko shouted back in response, then whispered to
himself "figures buso needs her beauty sleep"
***
Kaoru woke up later that morning and felt rather well rested. The first
few days after seeing that note tacked onto her dojo's doors gave her quite a
fright, but she wasn't too worried because similar tauntings occurred when she
first took over the dojo from her father. The notes and threatening glances
stopped after the first few months when Kaoru established her abilities and
defeated a dojo destroyer who thought a kendo dojo with a woman master would
have been easy pickings.
With a yawn, Kaoru got up and started to dress in her kendo outfit. It
was her day to guest instruct at the recovering Maekawa Dojo. Kaoru took off
her sleeping clothes and got her wrapping tape out to bind her breasts when
Kenshin slid her door open and announced "Kaoru, breakfast is ready!" Kenshin
then saw Kaoru at a state of undress and turned red in embarassment.
Kaoru stood there for a few moments shocked, then covered herself and
screamed, "KENSHIN!" Kenshin quickly turned his head and drew the door shut,
stammering apologies.
"Oh gods, I'm sorry, Kaoru, I thought you were still sleeping!" Kenshin
said as he sat down, embarassed and slightly terrified. Behind the door, Kaoru
quickly dressed as she tried to ignore the flushed feeling she had.
"Its alright Kenshin, but..." Kaoru said as she slid the door open,
dressed in her dojo clothes, holding a bokken in her right hand, "don't let that
happen again, got that?" Kaoru emphasized her point by waving her bokken in
Kenshin's face.
Kenshin nodded swiftly and replied "Yes'm!" with a slight look of terror
in his eyes. Kaoru regarded Kenshin slightly then smiled.
"Ok, get up already or breakfast will get cold when you get there" Kaoru
smiled at Kenshin and held her hand out to him. Kenshin took her and and
helped himself up.
***
After a nice, yet nervous breakfast, Kaoru instructed Yahiko for a good
two hours, then prepared to set out to the Maekawa Dojo to make her usual weekly
guest instruction. Kenshin helped her wrap her bundle and was about to walk
out of the dojo's gates with her when Kaoru stopped him.
"Kenshin, aren't you forgetting something?" Kaoru said as she raised one
eyebrow, looking at him oddly.
"Oro? What am I forgetting Kaoru? I repaired the holes in the dojo,
swept the yards, and dusted the house." Kenshin said, puzzled.
Kaoru sighed and pointed out in the yard at the large trenches that were
made by that spider-guy when Enishi attacked the dojo. "I still think that
looks slightly strange, don't you?" Kaoru said in a sarcastic tone.
"Ahhhh." Kenshin said as he walked over to one of the trenches and
regarded it with his observant eye. 'It would take me a few hours to fill
these in, but even then, she would be by herself for that long' Kenshin thought.
"Don't worry, Kaoru," Kenshin said as he turned his head to face her, "They will
be filled in when you get home"
***
Kenshin walked over to the Akabeko as quickly as possible with one
intention on his mind. He was carrying a change purse filled with some of the
coins Kawaji gave him just last week. Tae saw Kenshin enter her establishment
and smiled.
"Hello, Ken-san!" Tae said as she greeted Kenshin. "How can I help you
today?"
"Hello, Tae-dono. I was wondering if you can deliver some food for
dinner at the dojo and let Yahiko have the day off today? There is some
yardwork the dojo needs done. I'm prepared to compensate you for pulling
Yahiko on short notice." Kenshin said as he reached in his sleeve and retrieved
his change purse.
"I think we can negociate something" Tae said as she regarded the hefty
look of Kenshin's change purse. "But, if Yahiko has to leave work, I think it
would be best if Tsubame went with him. She can make sure he gets the work
done."
***
Kenshin stood outside the Akabeko with Yahiko and Tsubame and one almost
empty change purse in hand. Yahiko seemed slightly miffed at being taken out
of work so suddenly. "What am I supposed to do again, Kenshin?"
Kenshin sighed and explained, "Just fill in the trenches in the ground,
that's all. Tsubame, make sure Yahiko doesn't goof off, alright?" Tsubame
seemed extremely nervous but she nodded. Kenshin smiled at the two of them
then ran off towards the Maekawa Dojo.
***
Back at the dojo, Yahiko was busy shoveling in dirt to fill in the
trenches. Like anything strenuous in life, Yahiko treated it like training.
Tsubame sat on the porch and watched Yahiko work. She blushed slightly as she
noticed how some of his developing muscles showed through his sweat-soaked
shirt. Every so often, Tsubame brought Yahiko some water to drink or a cold
towel to wipe his forehead, her own way of helping him.
After a good portion of the day, Yahiko finally finished with filling the
holes in the ground and sat down, exhausted. Tsubame sat down next to him and
observed him curiously.
"Are you alright, Yahiko-kun?"Tsubame asked as she handed him some more
water. Yahiko took the water and smiled. He gulped it down and wiped what
was dribbling off his chin with his sleeve. Tsubame giggled slightly at
Yahiko's sloppiness.
"What?" Yahiko asked, unabrashed by his behavior. "Thanks Tsubame-chan."
Tsubame then noticed Yahiko was looking at her oddly, and it made her feel jumpy
and giddy at the same time. "Tsubame, I was wondering if you might want to
learn kenjutsu from Kaoru?"
Tsubame's eyes went wide. "M..me? But I'll be no good at it!" Tsubame
cried nervously. She looked at Yahiko's startled face, then apologized.
"I'm sorry, Yahiko-kun, but kenjutsu isn't for me. I still like you though."
Yahiko smiled at her.
"Ahhh, alright Tsubame-chan. I guess everyone can't do everything."
Yahiko looked down at his dirty sweat soaked clothes. "Hey Tsubame, I'll be in
the bath, alright?"
***
Kenshin sat patiently on a treebranch overlooking the Maekawa Dojo's gate
and watched the students leave as the lessons for the day ended. He saw Kaoru
leave after the last of the students and followed her from a discreet distance.
In some ways, Kenshin enjoyed following Kaoru. It had some of the cat and
mouse elements of hunting, especially when Kaoru occasionally looked over her
shoulder and Kenshin hid from her view.
Kenshin made sure the distance was at the point where he could rush to her
aide if something occurred yet far enough where she would not notice he was
following her. Kenshin hid behind a tree trunk when he saw Kaoru glance in the
direction behind her again. In a way, he was glad she looked over her shoulder
so often when walking alone. It showed she had a natural instinct of survival.
Kenshin's eyes sharpened when he spotted some people hiding in the trees ahead
of Kaoru.
***
The leader of this small Yakuza laughed as he saw his quarry. 'What a
joke,' he thought, 'a woman! This will be the easiest money I ever made'. He
signaled for his small group to spring out and attack their target so they could
collect their fee.
***
Six men ran out of the shrubbery infront of Kaoru and six men appeared
behind her. Kaoru set her bundle down and took out her bokken when she figured
these men wanted to fight her. She dropped into her usual fighting stance and
removed all emotion from her face.
"You should withdraw," she said. The men chuckled and one of them moved
to attack. Kaoru jabbed the first attacker in the pit of the stomach,
effectively removing him from the battle. She then spun around and hit another
one that tried to attack her from behind in the knee. Kaoru didn't let the
attacker's sudden shock go to waste and swiftly smacked her bokken against two
more men, knocking them back. When the yakuza started to get over their shock,
it was too late and Kaoru incapacitated the six men that blocked her way infront
of her. The six remaining, however, still believed they had a chance to defeat
her and refused to back down.
Kaoru evaluated her situation for a moment. She was lucky they chose to
place their strongest fighters infront of her, and that they panicked when she
attacked. The remaining six didn't seem like much of a problem and she did
have an avenue of escape open. She could either run back to the dojo and fight
them off in a running battle or stay here and try to finish them. Kaoru
decided that it was best for her to stand her ground instead of opening her back
by running.
***
Kenshin sat in a tree and watched Kaoru fight off what he assumed were
yakuza thugs, most likely hired by whoever tacked the note on the dojo. He did
not act yet because he rightfully assumed she could easily take care of her own
attackers by herself. He watched Kaoru catch one of the attacker's sword in
her left hand then jabbed her bokken into the man's armpit, dislocating his
right arm. She then eased within one of her opponent's reach and jabbed her
bokken's hilt right into the man's jaw. Kenshin saw Kaoru let out a breath of
relief and drop her guard upon seeing all her attackers were defeated. Then
Kenshin noticed one of the attackers on the ground behind Kaoru trying to stand
up.
***
The Yakuza boss couldn't believe that his men were defeated by a woman.
Her strike in his stomach still ached and he could still feel a puking reaction
surge again from his attempt at standing. He noticed the woman had her back to
him in a relaxed stance. He gripped his weapon tightly and leapt in action,
giving off a fierce battleyell.
The attack never made it. A reddish blur rammed him into a wall before
he even got close to the woman. The Yakuza boss felt extreme pain, slumped
against the wall, but got a good look at the man who hit him. 'Reddish hair...
crossed scar' he thought as he faded into unconsciousness.
***
Kenshin slid to a stop from his ramming attack and looked at the other
yakuza thugs and ensured each one was unconscious before he turned back to see
Kaoru glaring at him. "I saw him!" she said angrily. "He could barely stand
and I would have easily dodged that strike, but you had to jump out, didn't
you?" Kenshin stammered slightly, but Kaoru didn't give him a chance to answer
yet. "If you were following me, you could have helped me when they first
attacked me. Either help me all the way or not at all!" Kaoru started to
walk away when Kenshin hustled next to her and started to explain.
"Kaoru, its just that the note on the dojo really got me worried. It
seems my fears were warranted, though" Kenshin said as he gestured to the beat-
up yakuza. "Besides, you seemed to handle them fine until that last one got
up."
"I said I saw him!" Kaoru shouted back. "And what about the trenches?
Are they filled?" Kaoru said, getting in Kenshin's face.
"Yes yes, the yard's done." Kenshin answered nervously, then added 'I
hope' in his mind. "And even if you did see him, you shouldn't have relaxed
your stance like that. You should have kept on guard until you got away from
the battle."
Kaoru shot a glare at Kenshin. "Oh, don't even try to make it about
that. You're sleeping in the equipment shed tonight!" Kaoru started walking
back towards the dojo and Kenshin ran after her again.
"Kaoru, wait! Aren't you worried? Someone's attacking YOU." Kenshin
made his emphasis by grabbing Kaoru's shoulders and turning her to face him.
Kaoru's head drooped down a little and she softly shrugged his hands off her
shoulders, then she lifted her head and faced Kenshin.
"Kenshin, thank you for being worried, but you are making too much of it."
Kaoru said as she started to walk back home at a much more reasonable pace.
"This isn't the first time someone attacked me and my school before."
"What?!" Kenshin shouted, outraged. "Who did? Where do they live?"
Kaoru giggled slightly at Kenshin's outburst.
"No no, Kenshin, its alright. Its part of the risk of being a female
kenjutsu instructor." Kaoru said, trying to reassure Kenshin that it was
nothing.
"Alright, Kaoru, but something about this seems a bit more sinister,"
***
Kaoru and Kenshin got home at the dojo and upon opening the gates saw a
startling scene. Tsubame laughing, holding Yahiko's shirt, running from an
irate Yahiko running around with only his pants on trying to desperately get his
shirt back. "Yahiko!" Kaoru scolded. "How could you bring Tsubame here just
to 'play around'? She's an innocent girl! What would Tae say?"
Yahiko looked and saw how strange the situation seemed. It began
innocent enough, and it was still innocent. Tsubame was cleaning his shirt
when he was bathing, but refused to give it back to him when he finished. It
quickly became a fun game of keep-away, but with him half-dressed it didn't seem
as innocent to Kaoru. "Kaoru! Its not what it seems!"
Tsubame quickly handed Yahiko his shirt and blushed furiously. "Please
forgive us, Kaoru-san!" Tsubame said, bowing. Yahiko's eyebrows rose and he
quickly grabbed Tsubame to make her stand up.
"Be quiet, Tsubame! If you apologize, they'll think something happened!"
Yahiko said nervously. "Heh, Kaoru, really, nothing happened!" Kaoru looked
sceptically at both Yahiko and Tsubame, then sighed in defeat.
"Alright, you two can go" Kaoru said, resigned. Yahiko quickly put his
shirt and and the two youths left the dojo. "Kenshin, I'm going to bed,
alright? Oh, and you still have to sleep in the equipment shed." Kaoru pointed
at the small shed as she walked into the house.
Kenshin went into his room, to get his bedding and prepared to sleep in
the equipment shed.
***
The Yakuza boss limped back to the place he was supposed to meet his
employer. He fell on his knees as soon as he saw the man who hired him, not at
all amused. "You couldn't defeat a woman?" the employer said, annoyed.
"She's a lot better than you told us!" the yakuza boss protested. "Not
to mention she had a protector. Don't worry, my men can take her, we just need
more time." The employer seemed uninterested in hiring the boss's services
again.
"What did this protector look like?" the man asked as he unsheathed his
katana, as he emerged slowly into view from the shadows.
"He had red hair and a crossed scar on his left cheek, and he's faster
than I've ever seen!" the yakuza lord reported. The shadowy employer suddenly
got interested.
"Battousai? Possibly," the strange employer pondered as he stroked his
katana. The Yakuza boss got a look of pure fright in his eyes. "That makes
matters interesting"
"Wait a minute! You hired us to kill the BATTOUSAI'S WOMAN? I've got
to get out of Tokyo!" the Yakuza boss shrieked as he tried to walk away.
"You should not have turned your back on me, swine." The employer said as
he thrusted his katana straight through the back of the man's skull. "I guess
discrediting her was not enough. Next time, I will get rid of that woman who
defiles kenjutsu. Akiro?" the man said over his shoulder. "Your turn is
next."
The man behind the shadowy boss smiled as he rubbed the hilt of his
katana. "Thank you, my lord"
***
That's Chapter 3!
What do you think of Kaoru's new nemesis? What diabolical plans does he have
to impliment against Kaoru? Will Kenshin ever sleep in the house again?
Notice how these chapters are just popping out? I'm inspired, dagnabit!
Yutaro's reappearance will be soon, I promise!
Chapter 3- The Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu
After a week of careful constructive thinking and planning, Kenshin
finally came up with a way to watch over Kaoru as she slept. It was a rather
simple plan, actually. Kenshin settled into his normal slouching position next
to the door to Kaoru's room and rested the sakabato against his shoulder. Now
he was able to ensure no one would attack Kaoru in her sleep Of course, if such
an attack did happen, Kenshin hoped Kaoru would be far more concerned that he
saved her life than the fact that he slept right outside her room.
***
Kenshin woke up bright and early the next morning. He stood up and slid
Kaoru's bedroom door open a crack. He looked inside and saw Kaoru was still
asleep. He silently thanked whatever kami looked over him that night, then
picked up his sakabato and slid the Kaoru's door shut. When the door was
fully closed, Kenshin turned and saw Yahiko standing there with a surprised look
on his face.
"Orooo" Kenshin sighed, "Yahiko, its not what it looks like," Kenshin said
in a quiet tone.
"Geez, Kenshin," Yahiko replied with an annoyed look on his face, "Just
because I'm 10 doesn't mean I'm stupid. As long as you didn't hurt her or keep
her up all night, its fine."
Kenshin's face turned as red as his hair at Yahiko's statement, but he
decided Yahiko already made his evaluation of the situation and it was too late
to correct him. As he sighed in defeat, Kenshin quickly walked in the
direction back towards his room to change out of his sleeping attire. "Yahiko,
please let Kaoru wake up on her own, alright?" Kenshin said as he walked back
into his room.
"Alright, Kenshin!" Yahiko shouted back in response, then whispered to
himself "figures buso needs her beauty sleep"
***
Kaoru woke up later that morning and felt rather well rested. The first
few days after seeing that note tacked onto her dojo's doors gave her quite a
fright, but she wasn't too worried because similar tauntings occurred when she
first took over the dojo from her father. The notes and threatening glances
stopped after the first few months when Kaoru established her abilities and
defeated a dojo destroyer who thought a kendo dojo with a woman master would
have been easy pickings.
With a yawn, Kaoru got up and started to dress in her kendo outfit. It
was her day to guest instruct at the recovering Maekawa Dojo. Kaoru took off
her sleeping clothes and got her wrapping tape out to bind her breasts when
Kenshin slid her door open and announced "Kaoru, breakfast is ready!" Kenshin
then saw Kaoru at a state of undress and turned red in embarassment.
Kaoru stood there for a few moments shocked, then covered herself and
screamed, "KENSHIN!" Kenshin quickly turned his head and drew the door shut,
stammering apologies.
"Oh gods, I'm sorry, Kaoru, I thought you were still sleeping!" Kenshin
said as he sat down, embarassed and slightly terrified. Behind the door, Kaoru
quickly dressed as she tried to ignore the flushed feeling she had.
"Its alright Kenshin, but..." Kaoru said as she slid the door open,
dressed in her dojo clothes, holding a bokken in her right hand, "don't let that
happen again, got that?" Kaoru emphasized her point by waving her bokken in
Kenshin's face.
Kenshin nodded swiftly and replied "Yes'm!" with a slight look of terror
in his eyes. Kaoru regarded Kenshin slightly then smiled.
"Ok, get up already or breakfast will get cold when you get there" Kaoru
smiled at Kenshin and held her hand out to him. Kenshin took her and and
helped himself up.
***
After a nice, yet nervous breakfast, Kaoru instructed Yahiko for a good
two hours, then prepared to set out to the Maekawa Dojo to make her usual weekly
guest instruction. Kenshin helped her wrap her bundle and was about to walk
out of the dojo's gates with her when Kaoru stopped him.
"Kenshin, aren't you forgetting something?" Kaoru said as she raised one
eyebrow, looking at him oddly.
"Oro? What am I forgetting Kaoru? I repaired the holes in the dojo,
swept the yards, and dusted the house." Kenshin said, puzzled.
Kaoru sighed and pointed out in the yard at the large trenches that were
made by that spider-guy when Enishi attacked the dojo. "I still think that
looks slightly strange, don't you?" Kaoru said in a sarcastic tone.
"Ahhhh." Kenshin said as he walked over to one of the trenches and
regarded it with his observant eye. 'It would take me a few hours to fill
these in, but even then, she would be by herself for that long' Kenshin thought.
"Don't worry, Kaoru," Kenshin said as he turned his head to face her, "They will
be filled in when you get home"
***
Kenshin walked over to the Akabeko as quickly as possible with one
intention on his mind. He was carrying a change purse filled with some of the
coins Kawaji gave him just last week. Tae saw Kenshin enter her establishment
and smiled.
"Hello, Ken-san!" Tae said as she greeted Kenshin. "How can I help you
today?"
"Hello, Tae-dono. I was wondering if you can deliver some food for
dinner at the dojo and let Yahiko have the day off today? There is some
yardwork the dojo needs done. I'm prepared to compensate you for pulling
Yahiko on short notice." Kenshin said as he reached in his sleeve and retrieved
his change purse.
"I think we can negociate something" Tae said as she regarded the hefty
look of Kenshin's change purse. "But, if Yahiko has to leave work, I think it
would be best if Tsubame went with him. She can make sure he gets the work
done."
***
Kenshin stood outside the Akabeko with Yahiko and Tsubame and one almost
empty change purse in hand. Yahiko seemed slightly miffed at being taken out
of work so suddenly. "What am I supposed to do again, Kenshin?"
Kenshin sighed and explained, "Just fill in the trenches in the ground,
that's all. Tsubame, make sure Yahiko doesn't goof off, alright?" Tsubame
seemed extremely nervous but she nodded. Kenshin smiled at the two of them
then ran off towards the Maekawa Dojo.
***
Back at the dojo, Yahiko was busy shoveling in dirt to fill in the
trenches. Like anything strenuous in life, Yahiko treated it like training.
Tsubame sat on the porch and watched Yahiko work. She blushed slightly as she
noticed how some of his developing muscles showed through his sweat-soaked
shirt. Every so often, Tsubame brought Yahiko some water to drink or a cold
towel to wipe his forehead, her own way of helping him.
After a good portion of the day, Yahiko finally finished with filling the
holes in the ground and sat down, exhausted. Tsubame sat down next to him and
observed him curiously.
"Are you alright, Yahiko-kun?"Tsubame asked as she handed him some more
water. Yahiko took the water and smiled. He gulped it down and wiped what
was dribbling off his chin with his sleeve. Tsubame giggled slightly at
Yahiko's sloppiness.
"What?" Yahiko asked, unabrashed by his behavior. "Thanks Tsubame-chan."
Tsubame then noticed Yahiko was looking at her oddly, and it made her feel jumpy
and giddy at the same time. "Tsubame, I was wondering if you might want to
learn kenjutsu from Kaoru?"
Tsubame's eyes went wide. "M..me? But I'll be no good at it!" Tsubame
cried nervously. She looked at Yahiko's startled face, then apologized.
"I'm sorry, Yahiko-kun, but kenjutsu isn't for me. I still like you though."
Yahiko smiled at her.
"Ahhh, alright Tsubame-chan. I guess everyone can't do everything."
Yahiko looked down at his dirty sweat soaked clothes. "Hey Tsubame, I'll be in
the bath, alright?"
***
Kenshin sat patiently on a treebranch overlooking the Maekawa Dojo's gate
and watched the students leave as the lessons for the day ended. He saw Kaoru
leave after the last of the students and followed her from a discreet distance.
In some ways, Kenshin enjoyed following Kaoru. It had some of the cat and
mouse elements of hunting, especially when Kaoru occasionally looked over her
shoulder and Kenshin hid from her view.
Kenshin made sure the distance was at the point where he could rush to her
aide if something occurred yet far enough where she would not notice he was
following her. Kenshin hid behind a tree trunk when he saw Kaoru glance in the
direction behind her again. In a way, he was glad she looked over her shoulder
so often when walking alone. It showed she had a natural instinct of survival.
Kenshin's eyes sharpened when he spotted some people hiding in the trees ahead
of Kaoru.
***
The leader of this small Yakuza laughed as he saw his quarry. 'What a
joke,' he thought, 'a woman! This will be the easiest money I ever made'. He
signaled for his small group to spring out and attack their target so they could
collect their fee.
***
Six men ran out of the shrubbery infront of Kaoru and six men appeared
behind her. Kaoru set her bundle down and took out her bokken when she figured
these men wanted to fight her. She dropped into her usual fighting stance and
removed all emotion from her face.
"You should withdraw," she said. The men chuckled and one of them moved
to attack. Kaoru jabbed the first attacker in the pit of the stomach,
effectively removing him from the battle. She then spun around and hit another
one that tried to attack her from behind in the knee. Kaoru didn't let the
attacker's sudden shock go to waste and swiftly smacked her bokken against two
more men, knocking them back. When the yakuza started to get over their shock,
it was too late and Kaoru incapacitated the six men that blocked her way infront
of her. The six remaining, however, still believed they had a chance to defeat
her and refused to back down.
Kaoru evaluated her situation for a moment. She was lucky they chose to
place their strongest fighters infront of her, and that they panicked when she
attacked. The remaining six didn't seem like much of a problem and she did
have an avenue of escape open. She could either run back to the dojo and fight
them off in a running battle or stay here and try to finish them. Kaoru
decided that it was best for her to stand her ground instead of opening her back
by running.
***
Kenshin sat in a tree and watched Kaoru fight off what he assumed were
yakuza thugs, most likely hired by whoever tacked the note on the dojo. He did
not act yet because he rightfully assumed she could easily take care of her own
attackers by herself. He watched Kaoru catch one of the attacker's sword in
her left hand then jabbed her bokken into the man's armpit, dislocating his
right arm. She then eased within one of her opponent's reach and jabbed her
bokken's hilt right into the man's jaw. Kenshin saw Kaoru let out a breath of
relief and drop her guard upon seeing all her attackers were defeated. Then
Kenshin noticed one of the attackers on the ground behind Kaoru trying to stand
up.
***
The Yakuza boss couldn't believe that his men were defeated by a woman.
Her strike in his stomach still ached and he could still feel a puking reaction
surge again from his attempt at standing. He noticed the woman had her back to
him in a relaxed stance. He gripped his weapon tightly and leapt in action,
giving off a fierce battleyell.
The attack never made it. A reddish blur rammed him into a wall before
he even got close to the woman. The Yakuza boss felt extreme pain, slumped
against the wall, but got a good look at the man who hit him. 'Reddish hair...
crossed scar' he thought as he faded into unconsciousness.
***
Kenshin slid to a stop from his ramming attack and looked at the other
yakuza thugs and ensured each one was unconscious before he turned back to see
Kaoru glaring at him. "I saw him!" she said angrily. "He could barely stand
and I would have easily dodged that strike, but you had to jump out, didn't
you?" Kenshin stammered slightly, but Kaoru didn't give him a chance to answer
yet. "If you were following me, you could have helped me when they first
attacked me. Either help me all the way or not at all!" Kaoru started to
walk away when Kenshin hustled next to her and started to explain.
"Kaoru, its just that the note on the dojo really got me worried. It
seems my fears were warranted, though" Kenshin said as he gestured to the beat-
up yakuza. "Besides, you seemed to handle them fine until that last one got
up."
"I said I saw him!" Kaoru shouted back. "And what about the trenches?
Are they filled?" Kaoru said, getting in Kenshin's face.
"Yes yes, the yard's done." Kenshin answered nervously, then added 'I
hope' in his mind. "And even if you did see him, you shouldn't have relaxed
your stance like that. You should have kept on guard until you got away from
the battle."
Kaoru shot a glare at Kenshin. "Oh, don't even try to make it about
that. You're sleeping in the equipment shed tonight!" Kaoru started walking
back towards the dojo and Kenshin ran after her again.
"Kaoru, wait! Aren't you worried? Someone's attacking YOU." Kenshin
made his emphasis by grabbing Kaoru's shoulders and turning her to face him.
Kaoru's head drooped down a little and she softly shrugged his hands off her
shoulders, then she lifted her head and faced Kenshin.
"Kenshin, thank you for being worried, but you are making too much of it."
Kaoru said as she started to walk back home at a much more reasonable pace.
"This isn't the first time someone attacked me and my school before."
"What?!" Kenshin shouted, outraged. "Who did? Where do they live?"
Kaoru giggled slightly at Kenshin's outburst.
"No no, Kenshin, its alright. Its part of the risk of being a female
kenjutsu instructor." Kaoru said, trying to reassure Kenshin that it was
nothing.
"Alright, Kaoru, but something about this seems a bit more sinister,"
***
Kaoru and Kenshin got home at the dojo and upon opening the gates saw a
startling scene. Tsubame laughing, holding Yahiko's shirt, running from an
irate Yahiko running around with only his pants on trying to desperately get his
shirt back. "Yahiko!" Kaoru scolded. "How could you bring Tsubame here just
to 'play around'? She's an innocent girl! What would Tae say?"
Yahiko looked and saw how strange the situation seemed. It began
innocent enough, and it was still innocent. Tsubame was cleaning his shirt
when he was bathing, but refused to give it back to him when he finished. It
quickly became a fun game of keep-away, but with him half-dressed it didn't seem
as innocent to Kaoru. "Kaoru! Its not what it seems!"
Tsubame quickly handed Yahiko his shirt and blushed furiously. "Please
forgive us, Kaoru-san!" Tsubame said, bowing. Yahiko's eyebrows rose and he
quickly grabbed Tsubame to make her stand up.
"Be quiet, Tsubame! If you apologize, they'll think something happened!"
Yahiko said nervously. "Heh, Kaoru, really, nothing happened!" Kaoru looked
sceptically at both Yahiko and Tsubame, then sighed in defeat.
"Alright, you two can go" Kaoru said, resigned. Yahiko quickly put his
shirt and and the two youths left the dojo. "Kenshin, I'm going to bed,
alright? Oh, and you still have to sleep in the equipment shed." Kaoru pointed
at the small shed as she walked into the house.
Kenshin went into his room, to get his bedding and prepared to sleep in
the equipment shed.
***
The Yakuza boss limped back to the place he was supposed to meet his
employer. He fell on his knees as soon as he saw the man who hired him, not at
all amused. "You couldn't defeat a woman?" the employer said, annoyed.
"She's a lot better than you told us!" the yakuza boss protested. "Not
to mention she had a protector. Don't worry, my men can take her, we just need
more time." The employer seemed uninterested in hiring the boss's services
again.
"What did this protector look like?" the man asked as he unsheathed his
katana, as he emerged slowly into view from the shadows.
"He had red hair and a crossed scar on his left cheek, and he's faster
than I've ever seen!" the yakuza lord reported. The shadowy employer suddenly
got interested.
"Battousai? Possibly," the strange employer pondered as he stroked his
katana. The Yakuza boss got a look of pure fright in his eyes. "That makes
matters interesting"
"Wait a minute! You hired us to kill the BATTOUSAI'S WOMAN? I've got
to get out of Tokyo!" the Yakuza boss shrieked as he tried to walk away.
"You should not have turned your back on me, swine." The employer said as
he thrusted his katana straight through the back of the man's skull. "I guess
discrediting her was not enough. Next time, I will get rid of that woman who
defiles kenjutsu. Akiro?" the man said over his shoulder. "Your turn is
next."
The man behind the shadowy boss smiled as he rubbed the hilt of his
katana. "Thank you, my lord"
***
That's Chapter 3!
What do you think of Kaoru's new nemesis? What diabolical plans does he have
to impliment against Kaoru? Will Kenshin ever sleep in the house again?