Author's Notes: It'd be best if you read my notes, indeed, it would.
-A few things, disclaimer.yes, disclaimer, all the characters, but one so far, don't belong to me, all right? Duh, that's why it's called "Fan" fiction.
-And, hmm, I guess I better set the time line for you. It's not totally different. (1.) In fact, the reason why I haven't mentioned much of Kenshin's past is because I don't know much about it. Sure, I know the basics, about Tomoe (but not how she died or was lost), about the black envelopes (but none of the specific targets). (2.) It's at the point where Megumi has barely been introduced, and when I say barely, I mean barely. (3.) Hmm, I don't even know how they met her, all right? Which just goes to show you how totally clueless I am about the series.
-The story was started as a hobby about a week ago and I apologize for any...points in the story that aren't accurate. (1.) However, most of these points are tweaked on purpose (tweaked means changed). (2.) I've added Himura Saoshin (is it just me or does Saoshin sound Chinese? lol I can sort of distinguish the difference between Japanese, Korean and Chinese languages, because my mom's Korean and she says that Korean and Japanese are more alike than either are with Chinese) into his past timeline, I've added, trying my best possible not take away from it.
-Also, the story jumps (flashbacks, thoughts between characters.etc.) sometimes and it can be very unclear for you. (1.) If I get enough complaints, I'll certainly make it so you can tell when there are flashbacks and when different characters are telling the story. I just think it looks better without frickin' bold letters in the middle of the story, broadcasting a flashback to you. {sigh} I know, I know, it's easier to read when you have that broadcast. I want you to understand the story. I just want you to understand, all right?
-Lots of POV's but not too confusing, it all comes through in the end. (1.) It's an ongoing project thus far and I'm still working out the kinks. Little things, like forgetting to change certain "uncle Kenshin" to "brother Kenshin", things like that.
-Also, the whole thing is in complete English format, well, as close as I can get it to "Completely English" anyway, except for little things or little words, like surnames (last names) coming before first names and maybe at times when I can find no other alternate, like "katana" or some of the styles mentioned in the first six episodes or so in the series, or maybe a little "hai," which sounds better than the simple "yes" or an occasional "oro," which doesn't have a substitute anyway, but {shrug}. I use "Rurouni" on an almost regular basis when Saoshin comes in. Those Japanese sure have some nifty terms; I'll give them that. ^.^ Speaking of English and speech, I tried to mimic Kenshin's speech as well as I could.
-Blah, blah, blah, blah.
- But I feel uncomfortable with using Japanese words with English, it's like mixing any other two languages, it doesn't feel right to me, makes me think I'm breaking some unwritten code for it. I've taken Spanish and Italian classes, which just gives me an even greater respect for the separating of languages.
-Hmm, I also came up with my own little approach about Kenshin's little sixth sense and what it must be like from his POV, I associate it with the wind because, well, wind is everywhere and it never dies.
-And different little things that other people in my story have claimed he's done, like Saoshin's little accusation about a certain technique that made her "cosmically dizzy" aren't actual events or things he's done.at least to my knowledge they haven't. They fit with the Goddamn story, go with the flow, people.
-O, and about swearing, I tried to keep it to a minimal.thingy, but there's still a trickle of profanity in it, just a trickle.Trust me, I wouldn't joke about the cussing or sexual content, because I have no clue how old kids are when reading this stuff and if you must know I'm sixteen. Odd, huh?
-Sexual content in this story, you're safe from it, I'm a little uneasy about even hinting toward sex, but I just might in the later chapters or in the last one. No worries about it at all, yes indeed.
-Don't worry your precious little heads about the romance between Kenshin and Kaoru, because there is romance between them, just poor, confused, split Kenshin takes a little longer to realize (as usual) about his feelings for her, mainly because of Battousai's leech-attachment to Tomoe. Righty, got it, then? (1.) Kaoru's sickness is more symbolic than anything. I didn't just all of a sudden make her sick after Kenshin left for nothin', folks. (2.) Let me just say that I had to think about putting the romance between them before I actually decided that I was going to make this a Kaoru/Kenshin thingy.
-{sigh} I hope I make you cry and make you blush, make you laugh, and make your heart burst with love or hate or suspicion of the characters and what I tried to bring out in them. Writing relieves a lot of stress. {nod} (1.) I noticed that I tend to use actions more than words to express what the characters are feeling. Just keep that in mind.
-Uh, a couple more things, I guess I should say that I will intervene once in a while with little notes between little brackets that look like these: { } or . When it's something important or something that you need to remember for future reference or something that you probably wouldn't have caught if I {clears throat} hadn't told you about it.
-I'd like to call that little poem at the beginning of this story mine, but I have a slight feeling that it's from somewhere else and that somebody's already claimed it. {shrug} Hmph, well, enjoy. Boy, I hope I didn't make the introduction more entertaining than the actual story...
StrangerS : Collector of Stories
Chapter 1
Stranger in the Day
Stranger of the Night,
Take my pain away
Shed a little light.
Strangers. He ran into strangers all the time. But this one was the strangest meeting with an unfamiliar person he had ever had, because this person knew everything about him. It was weird seeing her as well; a call of recognition plagued him when he had first encountered her.
Lately, on an almost regular basis, he had run into more strangers than usual. It seemed the dojo was always in some sort of trouble, or the people within it, living here in this place. Trouble. He almost welcomed it.
Trouble was the only antidote to himself. Being without trouble meant being without fighting. Without this natural association with his other self, he felt that he would dissatisfy Battousai and go on a killing spree. So, in this, trouble was not a cure; it only relieved him of it temporarily, never completely smiting it.
He couldn't decide on what to do. He had warned the assistant master of the dojo that he might leave at any moment and he was sure that she kept this in her mind at all times. He wondered if she watched him now as he sat here on the deck in the back. She did that often and, much to her unbeknownst self, he knew it too. He had the slight impression that her crush of him had grown since the first time they had met. In fact, there was no doubt of it now.
He sat with his hands tucked into his robe above his shredded, cloth belt to keep him warm in the chill. It was a weird chill, in the middle of summer. Perhaps something was wrong.
A very beautiful day it was. He didn't understand why things went so wrong on such a beautiful day. Things had gone wrong on many beautiful days. He understood that things didn't go dark on only gloomy days, much to most people's imaginations and, ultimately, sorrow. He frowned slightly at this.
A wind blew in to caress his hair, but he felt something blow in with it, a strong presence, but not dominating. A sense of mystery surrounded this presence and he was surprised that he couldn't pick up any other vibe. He sat there, concentrating, staring ahead in a void of emotion that he couldn't quite sort out. This wasn't like a regular being. Then, he realized what was wrong with it or, more accurately, what was interesting about it.
"What is this?" he said, his eyes narrowing.
The force was hiding itself, receding into itself, as if not wanting to be known. He did not know of anyone who could accomplish this.
Suddenly, a great scream rocked the dojo and he got up and turned to the door, tipping his head to one side curiously.
"You little jerk!"
At first, he thought she was talking to him; she had used the word a lot when he had stayed the first few days. But since Yahiko had joined her classes, he had heard a lot less of the word 'jerk' aimed toward him for a while, although she still became very loud with him at seemingly inappropriate times.
"Miss Kaoru?" he called and advanced on the slide-away door.
"Miss Kaoru, do we have company?"
There was another person it could have been, who was Sano. He grinned at the new friend he had acquired here. This place was blossoming with new love and happiness. He stuck a hand out his sleeve and leaned it against the frame of the door after he slid it open. Yes, this was a happy place. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt safe. Safe enough to let his guard down even for a second. Safe enough to sleep at night, though still bloodied with the usual nightmares.
"Sano! I hate you both!" he heard her squawk even louder than before.
He slid his right hand out of his shirt and into his sleeve, placing his left hand on the hilt of his sword; he walked in and to the kitchen, quietly, but urgently.
"I'm never letting you wash dishes again!"
"Yeah!" Yahiko yelled happily.
"You'll just do yard work from now on," she said in her smug voice.
Yahiko started back with his usual comments, "What, you ugly girl! And what yard?"
He poked his head into the kitchen, instantly gaining their attention with his attendance. He noticed a pool of water and soap on the floor. Thank goodness it was an outdoor sink or she would be chasing Yahiko around the house right about now.
"Hey, guys," he greeted with a smile as he took a step forward.
"And what are you doing here?" Kaoru demanded with hands on hip.
He raised an eyebrow innocently and replied congenially with, "I was only wondering if Miss Kaoru needed anything from the market so I may go and pick it up. A quick walk for me, too, perhaps."
"Uh." she trailed off. He grinned; he knew she had been about to yell at him for having a lame excuse. He had saved this one for emergencies.
"Yes, in fact, we do need some tofu," she replied.
"Is that all, then?"
She shot him a suspicious glare.
His grin broadened at her suspicion. She had a strong intuition, she did. He closed his eyes and nodded, bringing part of his upper body down in a small bow and turned to leave.
Heading across the bridge and setting foot in town made the presence stronger. He knew that it hadn't been very far away. That was good, because he didn't want to be late with the tofu. As he walked deeper into the center of town where the market was held, he stiffened as he realized that he couldn't get an exact pinpoint on the whereabouts of the mystery being.
"Where are you?" he questioned urgently.
Suddenly, power flailed out and made him stop in his tracks. He knew where the person was now; it was like they had laid out a perfectly aligned tunnel to lead him there, reaching out to him. It wasn't weird to him. Whenever someone needed help it appeared to him in this form. Somehow it felt different this time, as if this.person was reluctant to reveal himself.
He started walking again and was led to an alley. It was a shallow, open-roofed alley and there wasn't a shadow in it, but there were people. A single woman within a circle of men. Perhaps one of them was whom he was searching for.
"Excuse me, sirs."
The men turned to face him with confused faces.
The woman looked at him, from under a straw umbrella hat, which was tied with a sash that ended in a knot under her chin. He had seen many field workers wear them in past hot summer days when he had once been on the road. She held a sun umbrella in her hand; she dug the tip of it into the ground, holding it like a cane, resting her wrist lazily on the top of the wooden handle, her arm outstretched, setting the sun umbrella at an angle. The wood was polished and so were her clothes. In fact, everything about her seemed clean and polished. Her eyes were dark and sullen beneath the shade of her hat.
Her kimono was much like Kaoru's on days when they went out to eat or out into public, but longer and flowing out from under her and around her and dark in color.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Do continue with what you were going to say."
He raised an eyebrow. He had had the impression that she was in trouble, yet she didn't seem to either acknowledge it or wasn't really in trouble. The way she stood and spoke really didn't suggest any problem. He tried to decide which one as he talked to the men.
"I was looking for somebody. And I thought they-I had.seen them come this way," he said and cleared his throat. He was feeling like a real idiot right then. "I was wondering maybe it was one of you men."
The woman tipped her head up, so her umbrella hat was no longer shading her eyes. He saw a brief liquid glint of red in both her eyes, but wasn't sure if he had seen what he thought he had seen though.
"It was not one of these men," she said to him, conversing over their heads to speak to him. "I am who you came to find. I was hoping that you wouldn't notice me."
The men were looking at each other, scratching their heads and whispering questionably to each other about the two.
He stepped forward, but one of the men gritted his teeth and growled through them as he lunged forward, trying to slash a cut in his arm.
The woman stood there as the red-haired man on the other end backed away quickly.
"Are you in danger, miss?" he called out to her.
She twirled her parasol and stabbed the tip into the ground gently with finality.
"If you're lending me your help, I don't need it," she said firmly and with a small frown creasing her lips. "Tell me if you remember me, Minder another word for protector/guardian {English} Battousai."
The whisper of the name spread rapidly throughout the alley amongst the men who had been about to attack the woman. He was sure of it now, that she had been confronted that is.
His eyes widened. He had to admit that she did have a certain sense surrounding her that was familiar to him. Then his face tightened into a glower at the mention of the name. Another enemy come to get him?
"I don't know who you are," he said, bitterly, his eyes narrowing. "But it looks as if you can take care of yourself."
She worked the handle of her parasol with trepidation. She looked down, bowing her umbrella hat over her face.
"I see," she murmured. "Don't think I'm being hostile with you, Minder Battousai. I'm being the exact opposite."
"I know this. I've never heard any, but a few, use such a respectable title for that name," he stated sternly with a frown of his own fluttering across his lips. "But, you must understand, I've been running into many dark figures lately. Most of which were strangers to me."
"Were?" she asked as she looked up with widened eyes and a trembling hand upon the tip of her parasol.
"Yes," he sighed and turned his body away from her, but kept his eyes on hers gravely. "I've turned them over to the proper authorities."
She straightened with the announcement and smoothed down the front of her kimono.
"Yes, I was certainly hoping you would not catch wind of me," she replied robustly, her head held high with confidence.
With that said, he wanted to hear no more and took to the street. He looked both directions and huffed a sigh as he turned to his right to go to the market.
He had not forgotten Miss Kaoru's tofu nor could he be allowed to forget it. It would seem even more suspicious if he forgot to bring it home. Forgetting tofu wasn't something he ever did nor would it seem logical to forget it if he were on a simple stroll to town.
He heard light stepping behind him and turned to see, hairs rising on the back of his neck.
The woman he had met in the alleyway lightly stepped out onto the street herself and picked up her kimono as she sailed in the other direction. Other women and men looked in her direction as she continued on her way.
Something prompted him to run back to the alley and so he did and as he rounded the corner, he saw that all of the men were either stunned or knocked out cold. His lips parted as he thought about her liquid red eyes glinting majestically in the brief flash of sunlight, like glasses of red wine...or fresh blood.
What made him even more aware of her was that she had somehow taken them out without any of them escaping or making a sound. He blinked in astonishment as people started to crowd around him and point and whisper at the sight.
After walking further into town and picking up a bit of tofu for the dojo, he walked back steadily and cautiously with the slabs jiggling in the water pan in his palms. And as he walked, all he could think about was that stranger. He still felt her presence, it was weaker now, but growing stronger, on the wind. He wondered if he were coming upon her campsite.
For all her extravagance and cleanliness, she could not hide the fact that she was a traveler, a lone wanderer.
His features tightened as he remembered his obtuseness with her. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so threatened by anything in the past five years. He didn't mean to be rude, but it came out that way anyway. It was like he had had no choice in the manner, but to speak in such a way. It made him feel guilty. He hadn't meant to be so rude. He sighed and looked up at the late morning sky.
He turned into the gates of the Kamiya dojo, with the bowl balanced on his palms perfectly, and looked around. It was quiet. He guessed that Yahiko was practicing solo, Sano was gone again and Miss Kaoru was.was.what did she do in her spare time? Did she ever have spare time?
He bowed his head curiously as he walked hurriedly forward and called out her name, but received no response.
"Odd," he said.
Where were the kids? And the grandfather doctor?
He went around to the back and saw them all gathered there, except for Sanosuke, who must have left earlier before this gathering.
"O, Brother Ken! Look, a friend has come! Bet you weren't excepting this!" Suzume shouted with delight and ran to him, with her little sister following.
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting anyone," he said, smiling brightly and sincerely. "No, I-"
He froze in mid step as he looked up to find the woman, her sunhat was off and lying on the deck and she was smiling gorgeously.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded as calmly as he could, but not politely.
Her smile fell away and Suzume jumped up at him, tugging at his sleeve.
"Don't make her sad, Brother Ken!" Suzume scolded.
"Yeah! Don't make her sad," her little sister mimicked, in the same tone of voice.
He looked down at both of them and then looked back at her. What was she doing here? He thought he had established the fact that he didn't want to see her again.
"Then, I will try my best to contain myself for you," he said, beaming down at the two cheerfully, "Indeed, I will."
"You'll act good?" the older sister questioned.
He nodded matter-of-factly.
"Now, come, we must put this inside to be prepared," he said and walked toward the door with two little girls trooping in after him.
He could feel Kaoru's eyes on him as he disappeared inside. She had so many questions. He was barely able to evade her anymore, because she knew that if she turned her back or closed her eyes for one minute, he would be disappear. She was very good about centering all her attention on him so he was around longer than usual when she was scolding him about keeping secrets from her or being selfish or just being a jerk in some way or when he slacked off in cleaning or something else that she probably made up to talk to him about just for the sake of speaking with him.
He smiled at this. He was glad that she cared about him and that she tried her best to be mature about it. Sometimes he wondered what ran through her mind exactly, because she had some very interesting ideas sometimes, things that made him believe that she really did make up stuff just to get a word in with him for one second.
Then, his thoughts drifted back to the puzzling woman and his features hardened. Why did she seem to be such a thorn in his side? He didn't even know her. But she certainly knew him, knew him as Battousai. He must have known her a long time ago.
But he had never seen her before in his life.
"'.Minder Battousai.'"
He looked around because the kids were unusually quiet and found them standing behind him solemnly.
"Yes, Suzume? Little Ayame?" he inquired.
"Did you used to have students, like Kaoru does?" Suzume asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.
He shook his head with a grand smile and said, "No. And I don't want any either. Why?"
"Because the lady said that she was a student of yours," Suzume said, unsurely. She looked away from Kenshin and he looked at her with perplexed eyes. "That's what she said."
"I see," he said and let his shoulders fall relaxed as he scooped the two up in his arms and hugged them simultaneously. "But I've never had students before, little Suzume. I'm barely old enough to be an agreeable teacher, I think."
She tapped the tips of her little fingers together while frowning, contemplatively.
"Can we make rice-balls, Brother Ken?" she asked. He nodded affirmatively.
"Rice-balls it is!"
"Rice-balls!" Ayame cried and wrapped her small arms around as much of him as she could hold.
-A few things, disclaimer.yes, disclaimer, all the characters, but one so far, don't belong to me, all right? Duh, that's why it's called "Fan" fiction.
-And, hmm, I guess I better set the time line for you. It's not totally different. (1.) In fact, the reason why I haven't mentioned much of Kenshin's past is because I don't know much about it. Sure, I know the basics, about Tomoe (but not how she died or was lost), about the black envelopes (but none of the specific targets). (2.) It's at the point where Megumi has barely been introduced, and when I say barely, I mean barely. (3.) Hmm, I don't even know how they met her, all right? Which just goes to show you how totally clueless I am about the series.
-The story was started as a hobby about a week ago and I apologize for any...points in the story that aren't accurate. (1.) However, most of these points are tweaked on purpose (tweaked means changed). (2.) I've added Himura Saoshin (is it just me or does Saoshin sound Chinese? lol I can sort of distinguish the difference between Japanese, Korean and Chinese languages, because my mom's Korean and she says that Korean and Japanese are more alike than either are with Chinese) into his past timeline, I've added, trying my best possible not take away from it.
-Also, the story jumps (flashbacks, thoughts between characters.etc.) sometimes and it can be very unclear for you. (1.) If I get enough complaints, I'll certainly make it so you can tell when there are flashbacks and when different characters are telling the story. I just think it looks better without frickin' bold letters in the middle of the story, broadcasting a flashback to you. {sigh} I know, I know, it's easier to read when you have that broadcast. I want you to understand the story. I just want you to understand, all right?
-Lots of POV's but not too confusing, it all comes through in the end. (1.) It's an ongoing project thus far and I'm still working out the kinks. Little things, like forgetting to change certain "uncle Kenshin" to "brother Kenshin", things like that.
-Also, the whole thing is in complete English format, well, as close as I can get it to "Completely English" anyway, except for little things or little words, like surnames (last names) coming before first names and maybe at times when I can find no other alternate, like "katana" or some of the styles mentioned in the first six episodes or so in the series, or maybe a little "hai," which sounds better than the simple "yes" or an occasional "oro," which doesn't have a substitute anyway, but {shrug}. I use "Rurouni" on an almost regular basis when Saoshin comes in. Those Japanese sure have some nifty terms; I'll give them that. ^.^ Speaking of English and speech, I tried to mimic Kenshin's speech as well as I could.
-Blah, blah, blah, blah.
- But I feel uncomfortable with using Japanese words with English, it's like mixing any other two languages, it doesn't feel right to me, makes me think I'm breaking some unwritten code for it. I've taken Spanish and Italian classes, which just gives me an even greater respect for the separating of languages.
-Hmm, I also came up with my own little approach about Kenshin's little sixth sense and what it must be like from his POV, I associate it with the wind because, well, wind is everywhere and it never dies.
-And different little things that other people in my story have claimed he's done, like Saoshin's little accusation about a certain technique that made her "cosmically dizzy" aren't actual events or things he's done.at least to my knowledge they haven't. They fit with the Goddamn story, go with the flow, people.
-O, and about swearing, I tried to keep it to a minimal.thingy, but there's still a trickle of profanity in it, just a trickle.Trust me, I wouldn't joke about the cussing or sexual content, because I have no clue how old kids are when reading this stuff and if you must know I'm sixteen. Odd, huh?
-Sexual content in this story, you're safe from it, I'm a little uneasy about even hinting toward sex, but I just might in the later chapters or in the last one. No worries about it at all, yes indeed.
-Don't worry your precious little heads about the romance between Kenshin and Kaoru, because there is romance between them, just poor, confused, split Kenshin takes a little longer to realize (as usual) about his feelings for her, mainly because of Battousai's leech-attachment to Tomoe. Righty, got it, then? (1.) Kaoru's sickness is more symbolic than anything. I didn't just all of a sudden make her sick after Kenshin left for nothin', folks. (2.) Let me just say that I had to think about putting the romance between them before I actually decided that I was going to make this a Kaoru/Kenshin thingy.
-{sigh} I hope I make you cry and make you blush, make you laugh, and make your heart burst with love or hate or suspicion of the characters and what I tried to bring out in them. Writing relieves a lot of stress. {nod} (1.) I noticed that I tend to use actions more than words to express what the characters are feeling. Just keep that in mind.
-Uh, a couple more things, I guess I should say that I will intervene once in a while with little notes between little brackets that look like these: { } or . When it's something important or something that you need to remember for future reference or something that you probably wouldn't have caught if I {clears throat} hadn't told you about it.
-I'd like to call that little poem at the beginning of this story mine, but I have a slight feeling that it's from somewhere else and that somebody's already claimed it. {shrug} Hmph, well, enjoy. Boy, I hope I didn't make the introduction more entertaining than the actual story...
StrangerS : Collector of Stories
Chapter 1
Stranger in the Day
Stranger of the Night,
Take my pain away
Shed a little light.
Strangers. He ran into strangers all the time. But this one was the strangest meeting with an unfamiliar person he had ever had, because this person knew everything about him. It was weird seeing her as well; a call of recognition plagued him when he had first encountered her.
Lately, on an almost regular basis, he had run into more strangers than usual. It seemed the dojo was always in some sort of trouble, or the people within it, living here in this place. Trouble. He almost welcomed it.
Trouble was the only antidote to himself. Being without trouble meant being without fighting. Without this natural association with his other self, he felt that he would dissatisfy Battousai and go on a killing spree. So, in this, trouble was not a cure; it only relieved him of it temporarily, never completely smiting it.
He couldn't decide on what to do. He had warned the assistant master of the dojo that he might leave at any moment and he was sure that she kept this in her mind at all times. He wondered if she watched him now as he sat here on the deck in the back. She did that often and, much to her unbeknownst self, he knew it too. He had the slight impression that her crush of him had grown since the first time they had met. In fact, there was no doubt of it now.
He sat with his hands tucked into his robe above his shredded, cloth belt to keep him warm in the chill. It was a weird chill, in the middle of summer. Perhaps something was wrong.
A very beautiful day it was. He didn't understand why things went so wrong on such a beautiful day. Things had gone wrong on many beautiful days. He understood that things didn't go dark on only gloomy days, much to most people's imaginations and, ultimately, sorrow. He frowned slightly at this.
A wind blew in to caress his hair, but he felt something blow in with it, a strong presence, but not dominating. A sense of mystery surrounded this presence and he was surprised that he couldn't pick up any other vibe. He sat there, concentrating, staring ahead in a void of emotion that he couldn't quite sort out. This wasn't like a regular being. Then, he realized what was wrong with it or, more accurately, what was interesting about it.
"What is this?" he said, his eyes narrowing.
The force was hiding itself, receding into itself, as if not wanting to be known. He did not know of anyone who could accomplish this.
Suddenly, a great scream rocked the dojo and he got up and turned to the door, tipping his head to one side curiously.
"You little jerk!"
At first, he thought she was talking to him; she had used the word a lot when he had stayed the first few days. But since Yahiko had joined her classes, he had heard a lot less of the word 'jerk' aimed toward him for a while, although she still became very loud with him at seemingly inappropriate times.
"Miss Kaoru?" he called and advanced on the slide-away door.
"Miss Kaoru, do we have company?"
There was another person it could have been, who was Sano. He grinned at the new friend he had acquired here. This place was blossoming with new love and happiness. He stuck a hand out his sleeve and leaned it against the frame of the door after he slid it open. Yes, this was a happy place. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt safe. Safe enough to let his guard down even for a second. Safe enough to sleep at night, though still bloodied with the usual nightmares.
"Sano! I hate you both!" he heard her squawk even louder than before.
He slid his right hand out of his shirt and into his sleeve, placing his left hand on the hilt of his sword; he walked in and to the kitchen, quietly, but urgently.
"I'm never letting you wash dishes again!"
"Yeah!" Yahiko yelled happily.
"You'll just do yard work from now on," she said in her smug voice.
Yahiko started back with his usual comments, "What, you ugly girl! And what yard?"
He poked his head into the kitchen, instantly gaining their attention with his attendance. He noticed a pool of water and soap on the floor. Thank goodness it was an outdoor sink or she would be chasing Yahiko around the house right about now.
"Hey, guys," he greeted with a smile as he took a step forward.
"And what are you doing here?" Kaoru demanded with hands on hip.
He raised an eyebrow innocently and replied congenially with, "I was only wondering if Miss Kaoru needed anything from the market so I may go and pick it up. A quick walk for me, too, perhaps."
"Uh." she trailed off. He grinned; he knew she had been about to yell at him for having a lame excuse. He had saved this one for emergencies.
"Yes, in fact, we do need some tofu," she replied.
"Is that all, then?"
She shot him a suspicious glare.
His grin broadened at her suspicion. She had a strong intuition, she did. He closed his eyes and nodded, bringing part of his upper body down in a small bow and turned to leave.
Heading across the bridge and setting foot in town made the presence stronger. He knew that it hadn't been very far away. That was good, because he didn't want to be late with the tofu. As he walked deeper into the center of town where the market was held, he stiffened as he realized that he couldn't get an exact pinpoint on the whereabouts of the mystery being.
"Where are you?" he questioned urgently.
Suddenly, power flailed out and made him stop in his tracks. He knew where the person was now; it was like they had laid out a perfectly aligned tunnel to lead him there, reaching out to him. It wasn't weird to him. Whenever someone needed help it appeared to him in this form. Somehow it felt different this time, as if this.person was reluctant to reveal himself.
He started walking again and was led to an alley. It was a shallow, open-roofed alley and there wasn't a shadow in it, but there were people. A single woman within a circle of men. Perhaps one of them was whom he was searching for.
"Excuse me, sirs."
The men turned to face him with confused faces.
The woman looked at him, from under a straw umbrella hat, which was tied with a sash that ended in a knot under her chin. He had seen many field workers wear them in past hot summer days when he had once been on the road. She held a sun umbrella in her hand; she dug the tip of it into the ground, holding it like a cane, resting her wrist lazily on the top of the wooden handle, her arm outstretched, setting the sun umbrella at an angle. The wood was polished and so were her clothes. In fact, everything about her seemed clean and polished. Her eyes were dark and sullen beneath the shade of her hat.
Her kimono was much like Kaoru's on days when they went out to eat or out into public, but longer and flowing out from under her and around her and dark in color.
"Are you all right?"
She nodded. "Do continue with what you were going to say."
He raised an eyebrow. He had had the impression that she was in trouble, yet she didn't seem to either acknowledge it or wasn't really in trouble. The way she stood and spoke really didn't suggest any problem. He tried to decide which one as he talked to the men.
"I was looking for somebody. And I thought they-I had.seen them come this way," he said and cleared his throat. He was feeling like a real idiot right then. "I was wondering maybe it was one of you men."
The woman tipped her head up, so her umbrella hat was no longer shading her eyes. He saw a brief liquid glint of red in both her eyes, but wasn't sure if he had seen what he thought he had seen though.
"It was not one of these men," she said to him, conversing over their heads to speak to him. "I am who you came to find. I was hoping that you wouldn't notice me."
The men were looking at each other, scratching their heads and whispering questionably to each other about the two.
He stepped forward, but one of the men gritted his teeth and growled through them as he lunged forward, trying to slash a cut in his arm.
The woman stood there as the red-haired man on the other end backed away quickly.
"Are you in danger, miss?" he called out to her.
She twirled her parasol and stabbed the tip into the ground gently with finality.
"If you're lending me your help, I don't need it," she said firmly and with a small frown creasing her lips. "Tell me if you remember me, Minder another word for protector/guardian {English} Battousai."
The whisper of the name spread rapidly throughout the alley amongst the men who had been about to attack the woman. He was sure of it now, that she had been confronted that is.
His eyes widened. He had to admit that she did have a certain sense surrounding her that was familiar to him. Then his face tightened into a glower at the mention of the name. Another enemy come to get him?
"I don't know who you are," he said, bitterly, his eyes narrowing. "But it looks as if you can take care of yourself."
She worked the handle of her parasol with trepidation. She looked down, bowing her umbrella hat over her face.
"I see," she murmured. "Don't think I'm being hostile with you, Minder Battousai. I'm being the exact opposite."
"I know this. I've never heard any, but a few, use such a respectable title for that name," he stated sternly with a frown of his own fluttering across his lips. "But, you must understand, I've been running into many dark figures lately. Most of which were strangers to me."
"Were?" she asked as she looked up with widened eyes and a trembling hand upon the tip of her parasol.
"Yes," he sighed and turned his body away from her, but kept his eyes on hers gravely. "I've turned them over to the proper authorities."
She straightened with the announcement and smoothed down the front of her kimono.
"Yes, I was certainly hoping you would not catch wind of me," she replied robustly, her head held high with confidence.
With that said, he wanted to hear no more and took to the street. He looked both directions and huffed a sigh as he turned to his right to go to the market.
He had not forgotten Miss Kaoru's tofu nor could he be allowed to forget it. It would seem even more suspicious if he forgot to bring it home. Forgetting tofu wasn't something he ever did nor would it seem logical to forget it if he were on a simple stroll to town.
He heard light stepping behind him and turned to see, hairs rising on the back of his neck.
The woman he had met in the alleyway lightly stepped out onto the street herself and picked up her kimono as she sailed in the other direction. Other women and men looked in her direction as she continued on her way.
Something prompted him to run back to the alley and so he did and as he rounded the corner, he saw that all of the men were either stunned or knocked out cold. His lips parted as he thought about her liquid red eyes glinting majestically in the brief flash of sunlight, like glasses of red wine...or fresh blood.
What made him even more aware of her was that she had somehow taken them out without any of them escaping or making a sound. He blinked in astonishment as people started to crowd around him and point and whisper at the sight.
After walking further into town and picking up a bit of tofu for the dojo, he walked back steadily and cautiously with the slabs jiggling in the water pan in his palms. And as he walked, all he could think about was that stranger. He still felt her presence, it was weaker now, but growing stronger, on the wind. He wondered if he were coming upon her campsite.
For all her extravagance and cleanliness, she could not hide the fact that she was a traveler, a lone wanderer.
His features tightened as he remembered his obtuseness with her. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so threatened by anything in the past five years. He didn't mean to be rude, but it came out that way anyway. It was like he had had no choice in the manner, but to speak in such a way. It made him feel guilty. He hadn't meant to be so rude. He sighed and looked up at the late morning sky.
He turned into the gates of the Kamiya dojo, with the bowl balanced on his palms perfectly, and looked around. It was quiet. He guessed that Yahiko was practicing solo, Sano was gone again and Miss Kaoru was.was.what did she do in her spare time? Did she ever have spare time?
He bowed his head curiously as he walked hurriedly forward and called out her name, but received no response.
"Odd," he said.
Where were the kids? And the grandfather doctor?
He went around to the back and saw them all gathered there, except for Sanosuke, who must have left earlier before this gathering.
"O, Brother Ken! Look, a friend has come! Bet you weren't excepting this!" Suzume shouted with delight and ran to him, with her little sister following.
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting anyone," he said, smiling brightly and sincerely. "No, I-"
He froze in mid step as he looked up to find the woman, her sunhat was off and lying on the deck and she was smiling gorgeously.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded as calmly as he could, but not politely.
Her smile fell away and Suzume jumped up at him, tugging at his sleeve.
"Don't make her sad, Brother Ken!" Suzume scolded.
"Yeah! Don't make her sad," her little sister mimicked, in the same tone of voice.
He looked down at both of them and then looked back at her. What was she doing here? He thought he had established the fact that he didn't want to see her again.
"Then, I will try my best to contain myself for you," he said, beaming down at the two cheerfully, "Indeed, I will."
"You'll act good?" the older sister questioned.
He nodded matter-of-factly.
"Now, come, we must put this inside to be prepared," he said and walked toward the door with two little girls trooping in after him.
He could feel Kaoru's eyes on him as he disappeared inside. She had so many questions. He was barely able to evade her anymore, because she knew that if she turned her back or closed her eyes for one minute, he would be disappear. She was very good about centering all her attention on him so he was around longer than usual when she was scolding him about keeping secrets from her or being selfish or just being a jerk in some way or when he slacked off in cleaning or something else that she probably made up to talk to him about just for the sake of speaking with him.
He smiled at this. He was glad that she cared about him and that she tried her best to be mature about it. Sometimes he wondered what ran through her mind exactly, because she had some very interesting ideas sometimes, things that made him believe that she really did make up stuff just to get a word in with him for one second.
Then, his thoughts drifted back to the puzzling woman and his features hardened. Why did she seem to be such a thorn in his side? He didn't even know her. But she certainly knew him, knew him as Battousai. He must have known her a long time ago.
But he had never seen her before in his life.
"'.Minder Battousai.'"
He looked around because the kids were unusually quiet and found them standing behind him solemnly.
"Yes, Suzume? Little Ayame?" he inquired.
"Did you used to have students, like Kaoru does?" Suzume asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.
He shook his head with a grand smile and said, "No. And I don't want any either. Why?"
"Because the lady said that she was a student of yours," Suzume said, unsurely. She looked away from Kenshin and he looked at her with perplexed eyes. "That's what she said."
"I see," he said and let his shoulders fall relaxed as he scooped the two up in his arms and hugged them simultaneously. "But I've never had students before, little Suzume. I'm barely old enough to be an agreeable teacher, I think."
She tapped the tips of her little fingers together while frowning, contemplatively.
"Can we make rice-balls, Brother Ken?" she asked. He nodded affirmatively.
"Rice-balls it is!"
"Rice-balls!" Ayame cried and wrapped her small arms around as much of him as she could hold.