Tapestry of Lives
Chapter Three
Traveling Light
Kenshin woke slowly to the sound of high-pitched chattering. His eyes remained closed while he tried to focus on the noises that he was hearing.
"He really does look adorable when he's asleep, Kaoru. How can you stand not jumping his bones? I mean, look at him.. The boy's HOT!"
Kaoru? Was she here? Was she safe? What did the voice mean by hot? He actually felt rather chilled. Kenshin tried to open his eyes but his lids remained firmly closed. He felt so heavy, so sleepy.
"Oh look, his mouth moved. I bet he's waking up. Took him long enough, but I guess there are good reasons for this. I mean he is.. well, I'll get into that later. Hiko, can you come stand over near him and catch him when he falls? I just know he's gonna swoon like an old lady the minute he opens his eyes."
"Why would you say that?" Another feminine voice, was that Kaoru? No, too cultured.
"Well, umm... I've met others that are alot like him. Hehe.." Nadine sighed and turned back to Kaoru. "You know, that kimono thing looks hideously complicated. Are they comfortable to wear? They really do look nice."
Kaoru smiled and turned concerned eyes towards Kenshin. The lights flowing around him had just recently begun to lessen, but his eyes remained firmly closed. "I'm used to it," she replied. "I've always wanted to try wearing some western style clothes, though."
"Kaoru, you're gonna love the time you spend here, then." Nadine stretched her arms into the air and let out a huge yawn. "Dammit, Kenshin! Wake up already. I've got things I need to talk about." She bent her torso over in a vain effort to stretch out but only cried out in pain as her side began to ache. "And now this thing acts up." She rubbed the offending area as she looked around. Most of the nine people were just sitting quietly and waiting. Sano and Yahiko were currently investigating a rolling tray holding a tea set and many different little covered plates. She'd brought in the tea tray with its wide variety of little cakes and buns on it knowing they were all going to get hungry eventually, but she'd been ordered not to let them out of the room until they were all awake. So, here they were waiting for the main character to wake up from his induced slumber.
"Nadine, may I come in?" A young voice called from the darkened doorway. Nadine grunted in approval and watched as the darkness swirled away from the center of the arched doorway to reveal a slim child dressed in a blue and green dress. Her head was covered by a wimple that matched the colors of her dress except for a bit of gold embroidery around the edges.
"Preistess Tariki, welcome." Nadine stood straight and bowed her head slightly to acknowledge the young girl. The entire room watched as she swept in on silent feet, the only sound coming from her was the swishing of her floor length dress along the stones below.
"It seems all but the Battousai have awoken, but that is understandable. His thread was much harder to retrieve than the others. I fear we might have overdone something in our attempt to keep him intact."
Most of the listeners perked up when they heard the young girl name Kenshin as Battousai. Kaoru stood up with a scowl on her face. "His name is Kenshin. He isn't the Battousai anymore. He doesn't kill anyone. Have you brought us here because of something he did in the past? Is all this a trick just to get back at him?" Kaoru's glower became more evident as she continued to talk. Sanosuke reached out and put a hand one her shoulder.
"Jo-chan, just wait a bit. They said we'd get our explanation as soon as Kenshin wakes.."
"Got him," Hiko said with a grin as he caught his tumbling apprentice. Kaoru ran over to the groaning swordsman and grabbed hold of his hand not letting go even as Hiko laid him on the stone floor. Others from the nine also stepped over to make sure he was well. Megumi wound up pushing them all away.
"Give him room to breathe, he needs time to wake up just like we all did. Ken-san," she spoke to him. "Can you hear us, Ken-san?"
Nadine stepped away form the group and over to the young stricken faced Preistess. "Ya know, when I say let me talk to them first, I normally mean let me talk to them first."
Tariki looked up at the towering Guardian and scowled. "How was I supposed to know she was going to get so defensive just due to the fact that I called him by his proper name?"
"There you go again, Tariki. I keep telling you, it's my job to introduce the groups. You're jumping ahead of me and that's not gonna work. You didn't even read up on their histories, did you? Wait, I'm sorry; you don't even have access to their histories. You only know him by his mirrors. Well, strangely enough, his mirrors are not all exactly like him which means his name is different" Nadine crossed her arms in front of her. "Actually the one mirror that the Web deems so important is nearly his exact opposite.. at times."
"Well, I am in charge of sending and receiving here at the central Web, so I will be needing the information regarding your departure shortly, so that I will have time to plan a proper course."
Nadine's shoulders began to shake with held in laughter. With a quick pivot she was glaring at the Preistess. "They just woke up," she muttered in a deep voice. "They have no idea where they are much less why, nor have I been given ample time to help them to understand the many paths they can take to return home. You will be informed of their decision as soon as I see that they are fit enough to cross the currently rather temperamental celestial pathways. Until then please return to your post and oversee the expected arrivals." The much taller Guardian was yelling quite loudly by the time she had finished speaking.
Tariki's eyes widened in amazement. "How dare you.."
"I have called a variety of Priestesses and Warriors to help and guide us in our journeys. They should be arriving within the next few hours or so. Please see to guiding them to the blue room upon their entrance into the central Web." Nadine straightened and looked out the still open doorway. "That will be all, Preistess."
"Guardian, I would like to tal.."
"That will be all, Preistess."
Tariki took a step back when she saw Nadine's eyes when they turned to stare at her again. "Of course, Guardian. I will be glad to be of service." She swished her skirts and walked quickly out the door.
Nadine's eyes traveled from the doorway to the group of people gathered behind her. Ten pairs of eyes were focused on her and several mouths were open in disbelief. "What can I say," she shrugged. "That girl just pisses me off sometimes." She grinned and walked forward, eyes focusing on the red haired swordsman. "Feeling better?" Kenshin blinked and nodded. He felt the need to say something, but Sano beat him to it.
"Hey, how'd you get your eyes to glow like that?"
Nadine's mouth gaped as she pulled out a mirror from a hidden pocket in her pants. "Oh, gosh. I didn't think she'd gotten me that mad.." She blinked a couple times, but green sparks still managed to shoot away form the outer edges of her eyes. "Ummm.. I'll be right back." She chuckled as she turned and raced out the door.
Kenshin sat up a bit straighter as he stared out into the hallway beyond the door. "Sessha," he started. "Sessha is confused."
Sano and Yahiko had just begun to walk towards the still open arch in an attempt to poke their heads out when they were stopped by a teeny sounding "Harrumph!" Yahiko saw her first; another tiny girl dressed in a completely concealing outfit, the only skin showing was her face and her neck. She had just stepped into the doorway and was panting slightly while holding her dress up as if to avoid tripping over the long skirt.
The little girl entered the circular room as Yahiko and Sano backed up. Once four steps in she stopped abruptly and straightened her skirt. Her eyes took a quick tour around the room pausing on each of the ten briefly. She took a deep breath and began speaking.
"Good Evening," she said with a slight curtsy. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Preistess Coralie. I am pleased to welcome you to our humble abode here at the Central Web. Please follow me to more comfortable surroundings where we may help you to understand the recent developments and urgency of your situation." Her voice carried a lilting accent that none of them recognized, it was just a slight roll to her rr's, but it had Yahiko blushing. She smiled and held her hands together at her stomach waiting for them to react.
"Well, what're you waiting fer? Get a move on, I'm hungrier than a wolf bitch with puppies, an they're not gonna feed me till they feed you." A figure moved into the room carrying a scowl. Her short black hair stopped at her chin except for a long, thin braid that fell across a tight, leather clad chest.
Coralie whipped around and gasped. "Aya, watch your mouth around our guests. They have been through an ordeal."
"Yeah," the petite Warrior questioned as she leaned against the entryway. "An ordeal. Well, getting picked out of the Well of Souls ain't gonna compare to the 'ordeal' of goin' up aginst ole whatsisface. Now that's gonna be an Ordeal. I can't believe I got talked inta doing this." Aya sighed loudly and put a hand to her stomach. "That mirror gate thing always makes me hungry. Come on," she waved her hand form the stricken group to the door. "Freedom lies this way, food also."
Coralie sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. After a quick stare session between her and the dark haired Warrior, she sighed and turned back to the intently watching group and nodded. "She's right, please follow us." She turned concerned eyes to Kenshin who was still sitting on the floor. "Are you able to walk?"
"Oro? Walk? Sessha is feeling quite fine, that I am." He began to stand up only to find himself wobbling. "Maybe with a little bit of help." He grinned his rurouni grin as he did his best to balance on his trembling legs. As soon as he had spoken he felt someone lift his left arm and place it over their shoulder. Looking over he was surprised to see Kaoru standing there helping to support him. "Kaoru-Dono, I don't think.."
Kaoru glared at him until he was silent. "I want to make sure you're all right, Kenshin. Do you really want Hiko or Sano to do this?"
He silently shook his head and smiled at her. "Thank you, Kaoru-Dono."
Saitou stood up from his eternal leaning position. He nodded to Tokio who grinned a little grin at him as she also stepped forward. "I do think I'm quite ready to eat," she said quietly as she stepped beside her husband. "I would also like answers." He nodded in quiet agreement with her.
Sano and Yahiko were the first ones out of the room following the slowly retreating Preistess speaking loudly of what they wanted to eat. Misao and Megumi stayed near Kenshin and Kaoru, Megumi to keep an eye on her patient and Misao to chatter to Kaoru. Hiko and Aoshi provided the tail end of the group walking in silence a bit apart from each other.
They walked quietly down the hallway except for echoes of Sano and Yahiko bickering as usual and Misao being her normal cheerful self. Every once in a while she would attempt to draw Aoshi into the conversation as one sided as it was and was turned away by his silence. Kenshin found himself studying the walls of the hallway they were walking down instead of how his arm was draped over Kaoru's shoulders. "Kaoru-Dono," he asked softly. "Are you feeling alright? There doesn't seem to be anything affecting you like there is me."
Kaoru smiled and concentrated on balancing his slight weight against her. "Well, I get the feeling that you're much more important to them than the rest of us, Kenshin. One of them called you Battousai just before you woke up."
"Sessha is not very comfortable here in this place, that I'm not. It seems.. otherworldly. I am seeing things that my mind can't explain." Kenshin shook his head and stopped moving. "Kaoru-Dono please let me try walking on my own from here."
She frowned but nodded and let go of his hand. He placed his now free arm on the wall closest to her and sighed. "My legs seem better, that they do. Sessha should be able to manage on his own. Thank you, Kaoru-Dono for your assistance." He took two faltering steps forward and promptly fell flat on his face. "Oro?"
"Kenshin no BAKA!" Kaoru cried out as she knelt beside him. "You're not better yet. You shouldn't push yourself." She grabbed his hand as he lay still on the floor. "Kenshin?"
"He's asleep again." Aya, who'd been sashaying down the hallway nearby, walked up to the stretched out swordsman and nudged his shoulder with her booted toe. Misao immediately pulled out her kunai. "Don't kick him," she cried out preparing to throw one when she felt a hand grabbing onto her wrist. She turned to see Aoshi shaking his head at her.
Aya glanced up at the fuming weasel girl and grinned. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's a habit." She sighed and knelt next to Kaoru. "Think we should get that big one there to carry him?"
Misao lowered her hand and watched the woman place a hand on the same shoulder she'd nudged, smoothing the gi down. "What kind of habit includes kicking people unexpectedly," she muttered to herself.
Kaoru looked inquisitively up at Hiko who was scowling at his sleeping apprentice. "I think Kenshin would rather sleep on the floor," she whispered back to Aya who nodded sagely. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
"Well, you gotta do what you gotta do, and we gotta do this." Aya stood up quickly and took a deep breath. "CORALIE," she began yelling. "Get back here and float this feller to the food."
Little pattering steps were heard and soon the blue clad Preistess could be seen running towards them with her skirt pulled high to reveal stocking clad legs and soft laced slippers. She slid to a halt before running into Aya and gasped. "Oh the poor thing." She knelt down and touched a gloved hand to Kenshin's back. A twist of light appeared from between his shoulder blades and began to rise toward the ceiling taking Kenshin with it. Once he was floating upright a few inches off the ground Coralie stood from her kneeling position and sighed happily. "There you go." She turned to Kaoru to offer a hand up and had to giggle at the look on her face.
"You made him float," Kaoru whispered with wide eyes. "He's.. he's.."
Aya took a step and lifted Kaoru by the shoulders. "Yeah, he's floating. It's fun to play with them when they're like this. Watch." She pushed a finger into Kenshin's side caused him to drift slightly to the left. "See? Try it, he's fine, just floating." Aya took hold of Kaoru's hand and pushed it towards Kenshin's arm. As soon as it touched she grabbed hold of his wrist.
"You got it down already, girlie." Aya grinned widely. "That's how you lead them around. Just pretend he's a puppy. Looking at him it won't be all that hard to imagine." She turned slightly and shot a glance over her shoulder to the ever quiet Aoshi. "I bet you get led around just like that sometimes, huh?" She grabbed Kaoru's free hand and continued her sashay towards the end of the hallway dragging the assistant master and the floating swordsman after her.
Coralie sighed and shook her head sadly. "My apologies, Shinomori-san. We tried to teach her manners, but they never seem to stick." The tiny Preistess sighed again and turned to grin at Aoshi. "She's only polite when she's around someone she's attracted to, so you're safe."
"Hey! I heard that."
To be continued
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, another installment, please be patient. I'm almost through the background preliminaries, original character introduction and other big fic things. Mayhem will begin as soon as the Kenshin gumi and friends become comfortable with their surroundings.. which should be next chapter. Tell me if I'm boring you.
to my reviewers.. all 4 of you *bows* Thnkyouthankyouthankyou
I feel sad 'cause I lost a review on one of my other fics. My friend was rather loud in her protest against the NC17 decision and had her name erased.. everything, even her signed reviews. *sigh* I miss her.
Traveling Light
Kenshin woke slowly to the sound of high-pitched chattering. His eyes remained closed while he tried to focus on the noises that he was hearing.
"He really does look adorable when he's asleep, Kaoru. How can you stand not jumping his bones? I mean, look at him.. The boy's HOT!"
Kaoru? Was she here? Was she safe? What did the voice mean by hot? He actually felt rather chilled. Kenshin tried to open his eyes but his lids remained firmly closed. He felt so heavy, so sleepy.
"Oh look, his mouth moved. I bet he's waking up. Took him long enough, but I guess there are good reasons for this. I mean he is.. well, I'll get into that later. Hiko, can you come stand over near him and catch him when he falls? I just know he's gonna swoon like an old lady the minute he opens his eyes."
"Why would you say that?" Another feminine voice, was that Kaoru? No, too cultured.
"Well, umm... I've met others that are alot like him. Hehe.." Nadine sighed and turned back to Kaoru. "You know, that kimono thing looks hideously complicated. Are they comfortable to wear? They really do look nice."
Kaoru smiled and turned concerned eyes towards Kenshin. The lights flowing around him had just recently begun to lessen, but his eyes remained firmly closed. "I'm used to it," she replied. "I've always wanted to try wearing some western style clothes, though."
"Kaoru, you're gonna love the time you spend here, then." Nadine stretched her arms into the air and let out a huge yawn. "Dammit, Kenshin! Wake up already. I've got things I need to talk about." She bent her torso over in a vain effort to stretch out but only cried out in pain as her side began to ache. "And now this thing acts up." She rubbed the offending area as she looked around. Most of the nine people were just sitting quietly and waiting. Sano and Yahiko were currently investigating a rolling tray holding a tea set and many different little covered plates. She'd brought in the tea tray with its wide variety of little cakes and buns on it knowing they were all going to get hungry eventually, but she'd been ordered not to let them out of the room until they were all awake. So, here they were waiting for the main character to wake up from his induced slumber.
"Nadine, may I come in?" A young voice called from the darkened doorway. Nadine grunted in approval and watched as the darkness swirled away from the center of the arched doorway to reveal a slim child dressed in a blue and green dress. Her head was covered by a wimple that matched the colors of her dress except for a bit of gold embroidery around the edges.
"Preistess Tariki, welcome." Nadine stood straight and bowed her head slightly to acknowledge the young girl. The entire room watched as she swept in on silent feet, the only sound coming from her was the swishing of her floor length dress along the stones below.
"It seems all but the Battousai have awoken, but that is understandable. His thread was much harder to retrieve than the others. I fear we might have overdone something in our attempt to keep him intact."
Most of the listeners perked up when they heard the young girl name Kenshin as Battousai. Kaoru stood up with a scowl on her face. "His name is Kenshin. He isn't the Battousai anymore. He doesn't kill anyone. Have you brought us here because of something he did in the past? Is all this a trick just to get back at him?" Kaoru's glower became more evident as she continued to talk. Sanosuke reached out and put a hand one her shoulder.
"Jo-chan, just wait a bit. They said we'd get our explanation as soon as Kenshin wakes.."
"Got him," Hiko said with a grin as he caught his tumbling apprentice. Kaoru ran over to the groaning swordsman and grabbed hold of his hand not letting go even as Hiko laid him on the stone floor. Others from the nine also stepped over to make sure he was well. Megumi wound up pushing them all away.
"Give him room to breathe, he needs time to wake up just like we all did. Ken-san," she spoke to him. "Can you hear us, Ken-san?"
Nadine stepped away form the group and over to the young stricken faced Preistess. "Ya know, when I say let me talk to them first, I normally mean let me talk to them first."
Tariki looked up at the towering Guardian and scowled. "How was I supposed to know she was going to get so defensive just due to the fact that I called him by his proper name?"
"There you go again, Tariki. I keep telling you, it's my job to introduce the groups. You're jumping ahead of me and that's not gonna work. You didn't even read up on their histories, did you? Wait, I'm sorry; you don't even have access to their histories. You only know him by his mirrors. Well, strangely enough, his mirrors are not all exactly like him which means his name is different" Nadine crossed her arms in front of her. "Actually the one mirror that the Web deems so important is nearly his exact opposite.. at times."
"Well, I am in charge of sending and receiving here at the central Web, so I will be needing the information regarding your departure shortly, so that I will have time to plan a proper course."
Nadine's shoulders began to shake with held in laughter. With a quick pivot she was glaring at the Preistess. "They just woke up," she muttered in a deep voice. "They have no idea where they are much less why, nor have I been given ample time to help them to understand the many paths they can take to return home. You will be informed of their decision as soon as I see that they are fit enough to cross the currently rather temperamental celestial pathways. Until then please return to your post and oversee the expected arrivals." The much taller Guardian was yelling quite loudly by the time she had finished speaking.
Tariki's eyes widened in amazement. "How dare you.."
"I have called a variety of Priestesses and Warriors to help and guide us in our journeys. They should be arriving within the next few hours or so. Please see to guiding them to the blue room upon their entrance into the central Web." Nadine straightened and looked out the still open doorway. "That will be all, Preistess."
"Guardian, I would like to tal.."
"That will be all, Preistess."
Tariki took a step back when she saw Nadine's eyes when they turned to stare at her again. "Of course, Guardian. I will be glad to be of service." She swished her skirts and walked quickly out the door.
Nadine's eyes traveled from the doorway to the group of people gathered behind her. Ten pairs of eyes were focused on her and several mouths were open in disbelief. "What can I say," she shrugged. "That girl just pisses me off sometimes." She grinned and walked forward, eyes focusing on the red haired swordsman. "Feeling better?" Kenshin blinked and nodded. He felt the need to say something, but Sano beat him to it.
"Hey, how'd you get your eyes to glow like that?"
Nadine's mouth gaped as she pulled out a mirror from a hidden pocket in her pants. "Oh, gosh. I didn't think she'd gotten me that mad.." She blinked a couple times, but green sparks still managed to shoot away form the outer edges of her eyes. "Ummm.. I'll be right back." She chuckled as she turned and raced out the door.
Kenshin sat up a bit straighter as he stared out into the hallway beyond the door. "Sessha," he started. "Sessha is confused."
Sano and Yahiko had just begun to walk towards the still open arch in an attempt to poke their heads out when they were stopped by a teeny sounding "Harrumph!" Yahiko saw her first; another tiny girl dressed in a completely concealing outfit, the only skin showing was her face and her neck. She had just stepped into the doorway and was panting slightly while holding her dress up as if to avoid tripping over the long skirt.
The little girl entered the circular room as Yahiko and Sano backed up. Once four steps in she stopped abruptly and straightened her skirt. Her eyes took a quick tour around the room pausing on each of the ten briefly. She took a deep breath and began speaking.
"Good Evening," she said with a slight curtsy. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Preistess Coralie. I am pleased to welcome you to our humble abode here at the Central Web. Please follow me to more comfortable surroundings where we may help you to understand the recent developments and urgency of your situation." Her voice carried a lilting accent that none of them recognized, it was just a slight roll to her rr's, but it had Yahiko blushing. She smiled and held her hands together at her stomach waiting for them to react.
"Well, what're you waiting fer? Get a move on, I'm hungrier than a wolf bitch with puppies, an they're not gonna feed me till they feed you." A figure moved into the room carrying a scowl. Her short black hair stopped at her chin except for a long, thin braid that fell across a tight, leather clad chest.
Coralie whipped around and gasped. "Aya, watch your mouth around our guests. They have been through an ordeal."
"Yeah," the petite Warrior questioned as she leaned against the entryway. "An ordeal. Well, getting picked out of the Well of Souls ain't gonna compare to the 'ordeal' of goin' up aginst ole whatsisface. Now that's gonna be an Ordeal. I can't believe I got talked inta doing this." Aya sighed loudly and put a hand to her stomach. "That mirror gate thing always makes me hungry. Come on," she waved her hand form the stricken group to the door. "Freedom lies this way, food also."
Coralie sighed in exasperation and rolled her eyes. After a quick stare session between her and the dark haired Warrior, she sighed and turned back to the intently watching group and nodded. "She's right, please follow us." She turned concerned eyes to Kenshin who was still sitting on the floor. "Are you able to walk?"
"Oro? Walk? Sessha is feeling quite fine, that I am." He began to stand up only to find himself wobbling. "Maybe with a little bit of help." He grinned his rurouni grin as he did his best to balance on his trembling legs. As soon as he had spoken he felt someone lift his left arm and place it over their shoulder. Looking over he was surprised to see Kaoru standing there helping to support him. "Kaoru-Dono, I don't think.."
Kaoru glared at him until he was silent. "I want to make sure you're all right, Kenshin. Do you really want Hiko or Sano to do this?"
He silently shook his head and smiled at her. "Thank you, Kaoru-Dono."
Saitou stood up from his eternal leaning position. He nodded to Tokio who grinned a little grin at him as she also stepped forward. "I do think I'm quite ready to eat," she said quietly as she stepped beside her husband. "I would also like answers." He nodded in quiet agreement with her.
Sano and Yahiko were the first ones out of the room following the slowly retreating Preistess speaking loudly of what they wanted to eat. Misao and Megumi stayed near Kenshin and Kaoru, Megumi to keep an eye on her patient and Misao to chatter to Kaoru. Hiko and Aoshi provided the tail end of the group walking in silence a bit apart from each other.
They walked quietly down the hallway except for echoes of Sano and Yahiko bickering as usual and Misao being her normal cheerful self. Every once in a while she would attempt to draw Aoshi into the conversation as one sided as it was and was turned away by his silence. Kenshin found himself studying the walls of the hallway they were walking down instead of how his arm was draped over Kaoru's shoulders. "Kaoru-Dono," he asked softly. "Are you feeling alright? There doesn't seem to be anything affecting you like there is me."
Kaoru smiled and concentrated on balancing his slight weight against her. "Well, I get the feeling that you're much more important to them than the rest of us, Kenshin. One of them called you Battousai just before you woke up."
"Sessha is not very comfortable here in this place, that I'm not. It seems.. otherworldly. I am seeing things that my mind can't explain." Kenshin shook his head and stopped moving. "Kaoru-Dono please let me try walking on my own from here."
She frowned but nodded and let go of his hand. He placed his now free arm on the wall closest to her and sighed. "My legs seem better, that they do. Sessha should be able to manage on his own. Thank you, Kaoru-Dono for your assistance." He took two faltering steps forward and promptly fell flat on his face. "Oro?"
"Kenshin no BAKA!" Kaoru cried out as she knelt beside him. "You're not better yet. You shouldn't push yourself." She grabbed his hand as he lay still on the floor. "Kenshin?"
"He's asleep again." Aya, who'd been sashaying down the hallway nearby, walked up to the stretched out swordsman and nudged his shoulder with her booted toe. Misao immediately pulled out her kunai. "Don't kick him," she cried out preparing to throw one when she felt a hand grabbing onto her wrist. She turned to see Aoshi shaking his head at her.
Aya glanced up at the fuming weasel girl and grinned. "Sorry," she apologized. "It's a habit." She sighed and knelt next to Kaoru. "Think we should get that big one there to carry him?"
Misao lowered her hand and watched the woman place a hand on the same shoulder she'd nudged, smoothing the gi down. "What kind of habit includes kicking people unexpectedly," she muttered to herself.
Kaoru looked inquisitively up at Hiko who was scowling at his sleeping apprentice. "I think Kenshin would rather sleep on the floor," she whispered back to Aya who nodded sagely. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
"Well, you gotta do what you gotta do, and we gotta do this." Aya stood up quickly and took a deep breath. "CORALIE," she began yelling. "Get back here and float this feller to the food."
Little pattering steps were heard and soon the blue clad Preistess could be seen running towards them with her skirt pulled high to reveal stocking clad legs and soft laced slippers. She slid to a halt before running into Aya and gasped. "Oh the poor thing." She knelt down and touched a gloved hand to Kenshin's back. A twist of light appeared from between his shoulder blades and began to rise toward the ceiling taking Kenshin with it. Once he was floating upright a few inches off the ground Coralie stood from her kneeling position and sighed happily. "There you go." She turned to Kaoru to offer a hand up and had to giggle at the look on her face.
"You made him float," Kaoru whispered with wide eyes. "He's.. he's.."
Aya took a step and lifted Kaoru by the shoulders. "Yeah, he's floating. It's fun to play with them when they're like this. Watch." She pushed a finger into Kenshin's side caused him to drift slightly to the left. "See? Try it, he's fine, just floating." Aya took hold of Kaoru's hand and pushed it towards Kenshin's arm. As soon as it touched she grabbed hold of his wrist.
"You got it down already, girlie." Aya grinned widely. "That's how you lead them around. Just pretend he's a puppy. Looking at him it won't be all that hard to imagine." She turned slightly and shot a glance over her shoulder to the ever quiet Aoshi. "I bet you get led around just like that sometimes, huh?" She grabbed Kaoru's free hand and continued her sashay towards the end of the hallway dragging the assistant master and the floating swordsman after her.
Coralie sighed and shook her head sadly. "My apologies, Shinomori-san. We tried to teach her manners, but they never seem to stick." The tiny Preistess sighed again and turned to grin at Aoshi. "She's only polite when she's around someone she's attracted to, so you're safe."
"Hey! I heard that."
To be continued
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, another installment, please be patient. I'm almost through the background preliminaries, original character introduction and other big fic things. Mayhem will begin as soon as the Kenshin gumi and friends become comfortable with their surroundings.. which should be next chapter. Tell me if I'm boring you.
to my reviewers.. all 4 of you *bows* Thnkyouthankyouthankyou
I feel sad 'cause I lost a review on one of my other fics. My friend was rather loud in her protest against the NC17 decision and had her name erased.. everything, even her signed reviews. *sigh* I miss her.