Disclaimer: Nobuhiro Watsuki is the owner of Rurouni Kenshin and all of its characters.
A/N: Whoo, looks like Megumi got a lot of really good impressions then I thought she would from the previous chapter! -_^ Go Megumi! Of course, she's not necessarily the best character, but still I didn't think she was all THAT bad... Anyway, she's a good character in THIS fic, so no worries. Anyway, thanks for reading!!! ^____^
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~Kyoto, Japan~*
That night, Misao was on the phone, talking casually with Sano as she sat in bed in her PJs, twirling the phone chord around her finger as everyone else in the Aoiya slept.
"How's Kenshin?"
"He's okay, rather exhausted from the plane ride though. He was looking rather fidgety in his seat."
"Kenshin? That doesn't sound like him. Have you noticed anything different about him lately?"
Misao thought.
"No, not that I know of. Why?"
From the other side of the line, she sensed a smirk coming from Sano's lips.
"Sano?"
"Misao, I'm gonna tell you a little secret. Don't let it spill out, though..."
With that, he mumbled on for a few seconds.
Her eyes widening, she took in every word.
"You're kidding...Kaoru-chan...?"
* * *
Kenshin irritably crumpled up another sheet of paper, and tossed it behind him. He sat at his table, with a little lamp lit up by his side. He stared at another blank sheet of paper in front of him, and carefully thought, tapping his pen against his chin. Writing letters was never his type, but he knew things would be a lot more formal that way. Finally, he settled down and began to write.
This is what he eventually came up with...
Dear Kaoru,
It's only been a few days since I've left Paris, and I'm already feeling sick from disappointment for having to leave such a wonderful place. Not only that, I'm afraid I have a throb nipping at my heart. I truly wished I could tell you this during my stay, however, I'm afraid my stupidity and awful shyness has prevented me from doing so.
That day when I boarded the plane to journey off to Paris, I felt as though I left a lot behind. It's always been that way for me, every time I go off on a trip. You might be laughing at me for my over emotional character, but it really isn't. I left two little girls behind in Tokyo with my master, Shishou, who I truly care about. I promised them a wait of two weeks, until the day I come back. Little did they know that their dear 'Ken-nii' wasn't going to come back for four, in truth... Little things like that make me feel guilty. But when I got to meet you, rather awkwardly, I feel as though my world was cleaned out, washed, and replaced again. What I really want to say is, I am sensitive in my feelings towards others. By the fact that your presence impacted me so much shows how much you mean to me.
I understand that you're thinking that this is leading onto something really big. No, please don't panic just yet. I'm just afraid to lose contact with people over seas, over land, rather, especially you. I really hope that you realize how much I want to be, at the least, friends with you, and I truly hope that our little relationship will last for an eternity.
And how I truthfully wish for that relationship to grow...
I miss you...
Yours truly,
Kenshin
He read his letter over again, hopefully being romantic enough to 'hint' something, but not be too 'I-just-want-to-be-friends' like. He sighed, hopelessly knowing that he was awful with letters, and sealed the envelope. With that, he switched off his light and rolled over in his futon.
* * *
"Himura. Oi, Himura!"
Kenshin opened his eyes slowly, and the face of an old man hovered over him, staring at him intently.
"Oro? Okina-dono?"
The old man twirled his little beard and grinned.
"Ohayou. Hurry up and get up before Misao beats you to death."
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up, sleepily muttering sounds. He woke up suddenly at Okina's loud bellow.
"MISAO, MY ANGEL, HIMURA HAS WAKEN!!"
They heard Misao's holler from the downstairs.
"I GOT YOUR POINT, YOU OLD GEEZER!! STOP HOLLERING!!"
To refresh himself, he stepped out onto their yard, taking in all the fresh familiar air as the sunlight tickled his face. He stretched, gazing at the sky, then looked down. He saw a single lily of the valley, tucked safely amongst the bushes. He bent down, looking at it, running his fingers around the slender bell-figured shapes. Gently, he plucked it, leaf and all, and went back into his room before answering Misao's call to breakfast.
After a chaotic breakfast with Yahiko blabbering on about how much he'd improved in kendo, and with Misao fighting with Okina over the food, Kenshin politely excused himself from the table to go out into the village. It'd been a while since his last visit, and he wanted to take in familiar sites back in his head again.
* * *
*~Paris, France~*
Megumi looked up from her work, staring at her table absolutely cluttered in papers, papers, and more papers. She rubbed her temples, looking out the wide window in front of her. Her luxurious office she owned was neatly organized, properly set up to her convenience. A gray couch was set along the side, with modern lamps and pictures around the walls. She leaned back in her office chair as she sighed, exhausted. At that point, she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in."
He came in, tall and striding in with a paper bag clutched in his right hand. He tossed it onto her desk before slumping down onto the couch. She looked at Sano with an odd look and pointed at the bag.
"What's-"
"Lunch."
"Oh."
She gratefully opened it, gingerly holding together a baguette sandwich as she pulled it out. She munched into it, using her other hand to pull out the cup of tea.
"Thanks."
"Anytime, kitsune."
She set the sandwich down and licked her fingers properly.
"Can I help you?"
He sighed, looking slightly drained from work as well.
"Not much. Just had a bit of free time. Figured you were hungry."
She took another bite.
"I was."
He smirked as she continued to eat. It was hard to believe, she'd been working since 7:00 am and it was now 3:30 pm. She could be starved to the bone, but she will never get rid of her manners...
"Megumi?"
She looked up from her tea.
"Hmm?"
"Wanna go some place? Don't you feel isolated in here, after like, what, 8 and a half hours?"
She closed her eyes and sighed, and he sensed an aura of longing from beneath her lids.
"I can't Sano, there's too much to be done."
"I might be able to help you..."
He stared at the papers trashing the floor, not to mention the crumpled up ones. She looked down at them and sighed.
"Sure. If you've got nothing else to do..."
* * *
Kaoru sat in front of 'La Petit Cuillere', looking down at the glass table that she'd eaten with Kenshin a few days ago. In front of her was a cup of tea and a piece of white, blank paper. She played with her pen as she thought, thinking of him, whom she recently discovered that she loved, and time passed slowly. She scribbled a few words.
"Dear Kenshin,"
A single golden leaf came floating onto the table in front of her, and she stared at it as she related the day she'd met him. Autumn leaves of gold, amber, and crimson had fallen upon the ground that day...
She crumpled up the sheet of paper, and tossed it into the trashcan with her empty cup. Wiping away a tear, she stood up from her seat and walked away, with memories clawing at her from all directions.
* * *
*~Kyoto, Japan~*
Misao sat reading her book in bed that night, flipping through the pages with a blank look on her face. It seemed pointless. What good was a book that contained no romance whatsoever? She rolled out of her bed and walked to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Drinking as she walked through the hall, she headed for Kenshin's room. She peered into his room through a crack in the shoji doors. She readied herself to offer him anything from the kitchen, when she paused to observe a little longer.
Kenshin sat at his desk that night, fumbling gently with some object with a delicate touch. With his body in the way, she couldn't make out what she was working with. His head was bent over the desk, as if in the process of serious work. She'd never seen him working so ambitiously, and her mind nagged her to interrupt him to ask what he was doing. However, she shook out the thoughts and walked away, leaving Kenshin to work, undisturbed.
* * *
*~Paris, France~*
7:00 pm. Sano had finally finished placing the last, precious sheet of important documents into the labeled drawer, and had stretched himself across the couch, massaging his arms. Megumi was just about wrapping up with her work at her desk, scribbling down the last piece of data before stapling it all together and placing it on a pile to her right. She sighed as she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes with weariness as she turned the chair around to look away from her desk. It disgusted her to even feel its presence, after all that work. Sano looked up at her from the couch.
"Done?"
She weakly nodded. He smirked as he reached behind him for the radio. Pressing the button gently, a smooth flow of music came waltzing through the speakers. Jazz. Megumi's favorite. He suddenly stood up, raising the volume slightly for the whole room to fill with its melodious tune. He gently slipped his hand under hers and pulled her out of the chair.
Gasping, she stumbled out, and he caught her as she tripped on her heels. She looked up at him.
"Sano, what are you-"
Her took a firm grip of her hand and gracefully twirled her around, letting her waist fall automatically into his open arm as she leaned backwards.
"Shall we dance? It'll help you stretch."
He twirled her again, this time holding her hand and pulling them apart their arms' lengths, and she came spinning back around into his embrace. She was shocked at first, especially for a young gangster to be able to dance, but she soon got used to his movements and began to move to the flow of the jazzy beat. Laughing, she twirled in circles, over and over, only to be found in his fast patterns of his arms.
Though none but an hour went by, it seemed like an eternity to the two who danced to the rhythm of the city mood...
* * *
Hot steam breathed out from the bathroom door as Kaoru stepped out, feeling fresh from a nice hot shower. Switching off the bathroom light, she walked over to her bed, stretching out and letting her muscles relax. Her head turned towards Megumi's bed, who wasn't back from work yet. On top of the neatly folded covers, she saw a large and thick envelope, neatly wrapped in brown paper. Many stamps marked its surface, and a note written in Megumi's neat cursive was pinned to the side.
"Kaoru-
This came for you this morning, right after you left.
-Megumi."
She took the envelope carefully in her hands and set it on her lap. She pulled off Megumi's note and gingerly opened it. She placed her hand inside, pulling out a smaller envelope containing a letter. Again, she opened it as well and gazed at it curiously as she saw the vigilantly written print, scribbled out neatly in row after row. She began to read, and part way through, tears formed from deep within her eyes. She placed a hand up to her mouth as she continued, letting a few fall down her cheeks as she marveled, unbelieving, and slowly closed her eyes. She let her hand fall to her lap, showing to the world a smile from her lips. Her hand gently tapped the envelope beside her, and a single bookmark came flopping out from the opening. She gingerly held it up to the light, and she saw a single stem of lily of the valley, neatly pressed down and slipped into a plastic rectangular sheet, with a light blue ribbon adorning the top. She sighed as she wiped away a tear, and sniffed. In her mind, she repeated the last few words she'd read in the beloved letter. She let the rest of tears fall as she opened her eyes to let her sight fall upon the very words that touched her.
"And how I truthfully wish for that relationship to grow...
I miss you...
Yours truly,
Kenshin"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
So concludes chapter 6!! ^____^ Interesting letter chapter, don't you think? I hope you give me your opinions!!! Thank you so much for reading!!! ^_____^
A/N: Whoo, looks like Megumi got a lot of really good impressions then I thought she would from the previous chapter! -_^ Go Megumi! Of course, she's not necessarily the best character, but still I didn't think she was all THAT bad... Anyway, she's a good character in THIS fic, so no worries. Anyway, thanks for reading!!! ^____^
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~Kyoto, Japan~*
That night, Misao was on the phone, talking casually with Sano as she sat in bed in her PJs, twirling the phone chord around her finger as everyone else in the Aoiya slept.
"How's Kenshin?"
"He's okay, rather exhausted from the plane ride though. He was looking rather fidgety in his seat."
"Kenshin? That doesn't sound like him. Have you noticed anything different about him lately?"
Misao thought.
"No, not that I know of. Why?"
From the other side of the line, she sensed a smirk coming from Sano's lips.
"Sano?"
"Misao, I'm gonna tell you a little secret. Don't let it spill out, though..."
With that, he mumbled on for a few seconds.
Her eyes widening, she took in every word.
"You're kidding...Kaoru-chan...?"
* * *
Kenshin irritably crumpled up another sheet of paper, and tossed it behind him. He sat at his table, with a little lamp lit up by his side. He stared at another blank sheet of paper in front of him, and carefully thought, tapping his pen against his chin. Writing letters was never his type, but he knew things would be a lot more formal that way. Finally, he settled down and began to write.
This is what he eventually came up with...
Dear Kaoru,
It's only been a few days since I've left Paris, and I'm already feeling sick from disappointment for having to leave such a wonderful place. Not only that, I'm afraid I have a throb nipping at my heart. I truly wished I could tell you this during my stay, however, I'm afraid my stupidity and awful shyness has prevented me from doing so.
That day when I boarded the plane to journey off to Paris, I felt as though I left a lot behind. It's always been that way for me, every time I go off on a trip. You might be laughing at me for my over emotional character, but it really isn't. I left two little girls behind in Tokyo with my master, Shishou, who I truly care about. I promised them a wait of two weeks, until the day I come back. Little did they know that their dear 'Ken-nii' wasn't going to come back for four, in truth... Little things like that make me feel guilty. But when I got to meet you, rather awkwardly, I feel as though my world was cleaned out, washed, and replaced again. What I really want to say is, I am sensitive in my feelings towards others. By the fact that your presence impacted me so much shows how much you mean to me.
I understand that you're thinking that this is leading onto something really big. No, please don't panic just yet. I'm just afraid to lose contact with people over seas, over land, rather, especially you. I really hope that you realize how much I want to be, at the least, friends with you, and I truly hope that our little relationship will last for an eternity.
And how I truthfully wish for that relationship to grow...
I miss you...
Yours truly,
Kenshin
He read his letter over again, hopefully being romantic enough to 'hint' something, but not be too 'I-just-want-to-be-friends' like. He sighed, hopelessly knowing that he was awful with letters, and sealed the envelope. With that, he switched off his light and rolled over in his futon.
* * *
"Himura. Oi, Himura!"
Kenshin opened his eyes slowly, and the face of an old man hovered over him, staring at him intently.
"Oro? Okina-dono?"
The old man twirled his little beard and grinned.
"Ohayou. Hurry up and get up before Misao beats you to death."
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up, sleepily muttering sounds. He woke up suddenly at Okina's loud bellow.
"MISAO, MY ANGEL, HIMURA HAS WAKEN!!"
They heard Misao's holler from the downstairs.
"I GOT YOUR POINT, YOU OLD GEEZER!! STOP HOLLERING!!"
To refresh himself, he stepped out onto their yard, taking in all the fresh familiar air as the sunlight tickled his face. He stretched, gazing at the sky, then looked down. He saw a single lily of the valley, tucked safely amongst the bushes. He bent down, looking at it, running his fingers around the slender bell-figured shapes. Gently, he plucked it, leaf and all, and went back into his room before answering Misao's call to breakfast.
After a chaotic breakfast with Yahiko blabbering on about how much he'd improved in kendo, and with Misao fighting with Okina over the food, Kenshin politely excused himself from the table to go out into the village. It'd been a while since his last visit, and he wanted to take in familiar sites back in his head again.
* * *
*~Paris, France~*
Megumi looked up from her work, staring at her table absolutely cluttered in papers, papers, and more papers. She rubbed her temples, looking out the wide window in front of her. Her luxurious office she owned was neatly organized, properly set up to her convenience. A gray couch was set along the side, with modern lamps and pictures around the walls. She leaned back in her office chair as she sighed, exhausted. At that point, she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in."
He came in, tall and striding in with a paper bag clutched in his right hand. He tossed it onto her desk before slumping down onto the couch. She looked at Sano with an odd look and pointed at the bag.
"What's-"
"Lunch."
"Oh."
She gratefully opened it, gingerly holding together a baguette sandwich as she pulled it out. She munched into it, using her other hand to pull out the cup of tea.
"Thanks."
"Anytime, kitsune."
She set the sandwich down and licked her fingers properly.
"Can I help you?"
He sighed, looking slightly drained from work as well.
"Not much. Just had a bit of free time. Figured you were hungry."
She took another bite.
"I was."
He smirked as she continued to eat. It was hard to believe, she'd been working since 7:00 am and it was now 3:30 pm. She could be starved to the bone, but she will never get rid of her manners...
"Megumi?"
She looked up from her tea.
"Hmm?"
"Wanna go some place? Don't you feel isolated in here, after like, what, 8 and a half hours?"
She closed her eyes and sighed, and he sensed an aura of longing from beneath her lids.
"I can't Sano, there's too much to be done."
"I might be able to help you..."
He stared at the papers trashing the floor, not to mention the crumpled up ones. She looked down at them and sighed.
"Sure. If you've got nothing else to do..."
* * *
Kaoru sat in front of 'La Petit Cuillere', looking down at the glass table that she'd eaten with Kenshin a few days ago. In front of her was a cup of tea and a piece of white, blank paper. She played with her pen as she thought, thinking of him, whom she recently discovered that she loved, and time passed slowly. She scribbled a few words.
"Dear Kenshin,"
A single golden leaf came floating onto the table in front of her, and she stared at it as she related the day she'd met him. Autumn leaves of gold, amber, and crimson had fallen upon the ground that day...
She crumpled up the sheet of paper, and tossed it into the trashcan with her empty cup. Wiping away a tear, she stood up from her seat and walked away, with memories clawing at her from all directions.
* * *
*~Kyoto, Japan~*
Misao sat reading her book in bed that night, flipping through the pages with a blank look on her face. It seemed pointless. What good was a book that contained no romance whatsoever? She rolled out of her bed and walked to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Drinking as she walked through the hall, she headed for Kenshin's room. She peered into his room through a crack in the shoji doors. She readied herself to offer him anything from the kitchen, when she paused to observe a little longer.
Kenshin sat at his desk that night, fumbling gently with some object with a delicate touch. With his body in the way, she couldn't make out what she was working with. His head was bent over the desk, as if in the process of serious work. She'd never seen him working so ambitiously, and her mind nagged her to interrupt him to ask what he was doing. However, she shook out the thoughts and walked away, leaving Kenshin to work, undisturbed.
* * *
*~Paris, France~*
7:00 pm. Sano had finally finished placing the last, precious sheet of important documents into the labeled drawer, and had stretched himself across the couch, massaging his arms. Megumi was just about wrapping up with her work at her desk, scribbling down the last piece of data before stapling it all together and placing it on a pile to her right. She sighed as she leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes with weariness as she turned the chair around to look away from her desk. It disgusted her to even feel its presence, after all that work. Sano looked up at her from the couch.
"Done?"
She weakly nodded. He smirked as he reached behind him for the radio. Pressing the button gently, a smooth flow of music came waltzing through the speakers. Jazz. Megumi's favorite. He suddenly stood up, raising the volume slightly for the whole room to fill with its melodious tune. He gently slipped his hand under hers and pulled her out of the chair.
Gasping, she stumbled out, and he caught her as she tripped on her heels. She looked up at him.
"Sano, what are you-"
Her took a firm grip of her hand and gracefully twirled her around, letting her waist fall automatically into his open arm as she leaned backwards.
"Shall we dance? It'll help you stretch."
He twirled her again, this time holding her hand and pulling them apart their arms' lengths, and she came spinning back around into his embrace. She was shocked at first, especially for a young gangster to be able to dance, but she soon got used to his movements and began to move to the flow of the jazzy beat. Laughing, she twirled in circles, over and over, only to be found in his fast patterns of his arms.
Though none but an hour went by, it seemed like an eternity to the two who danced to the rhythm of the city mood...
* * *
Hot steam breathed out from the bathroom door as Kaoru stepped out, feeling fresh from a nice hot shower. Switching off the bathroom light, she walked over to her bed, stretching out and letting her muscles relax. Her head turned towards Megumi's bed, who wasn't back from work yet. On top of the neatly folded covers, she saw a large and thick envelope, neatly wrapped in brown paper. Many stamps marked its surface, and a note written in Megumi's neat cursive was pinned to the side.
"Kaoru-
This came for you this morning, right after you left.
-Megumi."
She took the envelope carefully in her hands and set it on her lap. She pulled off Megumi's note and gingerly opened it. She placed her hand inside, pulling out a smaller envelope containing a letter. Again, she opened it as well and gazed at it curiously as she saw the vigilantly written print, scribbled out neatly in row after row. She began to read, and part way through, tears formed from deep within her eyes. She placed a hand up to her mouth as she continued, letting a few fall down her cheeks as she marveled, unbelieving, and slowly closed her eyes. She let her hand fall to her lap, showing to the world a smile from her lips. Her hand gently tapped the envelope beside her, and a single bookmark came flopping out from the opening. She gingerly held it up to the light, and she saw a single stem of lily of the valley, neatly pressed down and slipped into a plastic rectangular sheet, with a light blue ribbon adorning the top. She sighed as she wiped away a tear, and sniffed. In her mind, she repeated the last few words she'd read in the beloved letter. She let the rest of tears fall as she opened her eyes to let her sight fall upon the very words that touched her.
"And how I truthfully wish for that relationship to grow...
I miss you...
Yours truly,
Kenshin"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
So concludes chapter 6!! ^____^ Interesting letter chapter, don't you think? I hope you give me your opinions!!! Thank you so much for reading!!! ^_____^