Author's note: Before a ramble about anything, I have to say that I'm not satisfied at all with this chapter. But it had to be written so lets hope it's not too crappie. Also, the story will soon bifurcate into a more dramatic part, as soon as the next chapter and I believe a raise of ranking will be needed. That said, let's get into my oh so lovely rambling! ^-^ This weeks subject… Love. Has it ever happened to any of you to have the big confession and not being able to return the feeling? Its quite frustrating. Why can't a girl have a guy friend without having him fall in love with her? Honestly, I wish it would be different. I know how it feels to be rejected, everyone gets it at least once in their life. But who feels the worst? The rejected or the one who rejects? I really don't know. Both are feelings that I hate to feel. I'm too kind of a person to hurt others, even though I have a really twisted way of thinking, hate flies so much that I can chase them around like the crazy girl I am. It's horrible thought to see the pain in the eyes of a friend and know that you are the cause of it. I wish no one has to life through this.
Standard disclaimers applies (just not feeling like stating them as I usually do, too tired to bother)
Warnings: Some material mistreatment, but nothing really bad in this one. Though the next will need a good warning… So furniture lovers, be warned!
Within Soul
By Evil Karyta
Chapter Five
"Life is wasted on the living."
Douglas Adams
The morning, usually a peaceful time, caught in between the rush of the maids that took care of the installations, the loud morning meal and the cacophony of every day life, but not today. In one room in particular, one person intended on making the most possible sound and noises, such as a tornado, trapped in a box, would. Kaoru was furious, eyes blazing and ready to destroy about anything that would come in her way. Thankfully, her room was void of living soul beside herself. Only remained the inert object that surrounded her, and they were going through the torture of her mood swing. Here and there, you could see some innocent paper and books flying around, adding their selves to the growing mess that her tantrum was so easily creating.
What created such a violent need of destruction? At her wake, the young woman had realized something; she had been chasing a shadow. Such insight had been the catalysis of a myriad of reaction that, once concentrated into a sole one, created a destructive need to brake or make things fly about. But it all started with a good emotional release that she only knew the secret of. From self-affliction to a very dangerous hurricane, Kaoru had taken upon herself to vent a rage that would very well be murderous if set loose during the day.
There was a hate boiling inside her, tearing at her guts and making her feel useless, confined in a world she just could not bare alone. Two weeks of profound thinking, turning around in the mystery of her pondering abilities, coming to the conclusion, after many sleepless nights, that her journey had been nothing but some illusionary solution from a young mind craving answers to questions that never really were. So many sacrifices, so many suffering, and what for? Nothing but misery and more suffering and no answers. She felt pathetic in that winter morning, useless and the biggest fool alive. Such was the reason of her caustics. That and the search of a journal which she entended to tear apart with the most devious grin on her face, ripping the remains of a life she hated and wished to disappear.
Of course, as unorganized as she was, even though working as a maid in an inn, she had lost it among the mess her room had become throughout the two years that had flown by. And now she was making it an even bigger disarray than it was. She was only clad in her yakuta, gaping as usually, so much for modesty, but she was alone, who could be staring? At that moment she was pushing her futon to a corner, moving the mass of books, cloths and paper out of the way in the meantime. Hopeless search, her mood getting worst each passing second and turning what could have been described as a passing storm to a full anger ready to slash down everything. So warped up in the confused haze of clashing fury, she did not even cared anymore is someone, or everyone as it was turning to be, would be awaken by her trashing. All that mattered was destroying and finding the hiding place of the stupid diary. However, such ways was quite a good solution to let lose an aggressiveness that could have been set lose on a living being with catastrophic consequences. At least, what few material that had been torn could easily be replaced or repaired, human flesh was a more complex material than paper, wood and fabrics.
Soon, realization sat in that wherever the damn book had gone too, it was not for her to find out, at least not today, and she ended in the middle of the debris of her own anger, sweating, hair disheveled, tendrils coming out of the braid that had been once a careful hair do in the most impossible ways. Her cheeks redden by her outburst, eyes glassy and unable to focus, watching everything and nothing at the same time. The blue orbs moving in a fast rate over the rests of what was once called a room, their movement in fits and starts by the laziness of the seeing organ, her heart restless, blood boiling with the remains of her outburst.
All there was left to do was calm dawn, take deep breathes, even though her breathing was out of control. To some invisible observer, her sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by only broken things, would be akin to the portrait of a lost child after the deadly battle that would have taken everything away from her. Even her face reflected such an analogy such the dismay was grand. Biting on her lower lips, trying hard to repress a new wave of chaos that just longed for freedom, her fingers twisting and untwisting the helm of her nightwear, chest returning to a normal rise and down, she forced her mind to remembrance.
The typhoon had finally passed, everything was returning to the normal silence of early morning. Such was the wander of therapeutic outbursts, violence should never be out on peers. She smiled, those were the words of her father, along many other wise advices of a man who knew more of life than his little carefree girl could imagine. The calm was returning to her soul, muscles that had been tense was now relaxing and she could think more clearly, see to, and the sight that greeted her return to the sane world was one that could very well pass as the scene of a bloody battle. And on the corner, as if mocking her, was the lost book, resting contently on the wooden floor, with not a care in the world.
"Why you hypocrite thing!" she yelled.
All the inhuman efforts and tries to calm the beast of her spirit had flown out the window upon the single sight of the leather bound journal. The girl gripped it firmly, and with a cry of victory raised it above her hand, dancing madly with joy, foot hitting the floor loudly, resounding through the inn and awaking the few that had been lucky to still be asleep. She had not a care in the world, but she could not remember for the life of her why she had been so eager to retrieve the hell bound thing. This put a stop to her childish behavior, leaving her confused.
Sitting against the wall, her gaze grassing the only thing she had left of her father, she sighed. Maybe she simply had longed to have his presence near her, even a symbolic one. Shaking her head, a indulgent smile crossing her lips, Kaoru got back to her feet, setting the book on the window sill. She straighten herself up, closing the large gape that no longer shield her breasts to the world, pulled her sleeves up and forced herself to clean up a bit. And the trashing started anew. Clothes flying to a corner, books pilling in another one, broken things and torn paper near the door, the mess got organized. First thing to be set, her bed was rolled up and left in the middle of the small room, than the low table back at it rightful place, followed by the books and the discovered sitting cousin which had been the first thing the be cast away in her frenzy haze of destruction. Everything was returning to normal, more even, for it was cleaner than it had been in the beginning.
However, something was bothering her, a throbbing pain in her left palm that could no longer be ignored. For weeks now the injury had been there, it had been very deep, trying to heal but falling miserably in doing so. Was it not enough that Kaoru could barely do what she was asked to, she could not even properly take care of her own wounds? Her hand hung low, eyes shield by strands of midnight hair, handing her shame to the walls that were her every day's companions. Kneeling down, she carefully unwrapped the long bandaged that had once been white but now was sporting different shades of gray and interesting tones of red and pink.
The slash stared at her in all its ugliness. The contours were purple, blue and at some places they turned to green, she no longer recognized the color of her hand. In the middle of the mess of colors was the wound in itself. As deep as it had been the first day, the new skin that had miraculously been created even though it had been harshly treated, was cracking up, leaving the place to the red liquid that filled her veins and some of the healing, transparent liquid wish was now infected profusely and turning to some white and yellow shading. If the room had been disordered, there was no adjectives strong enough to describe the mess.
The young woman let her long index finger travel the crevasse of her hand, barely touching it, and a yelp of pain escaped the confines of her mouth. It felt as if her finger had burned her, it was not unbearable, but it hurt none the less. Under her breath, she cursed the clumsiness that was hers, the cause of all her injuries and many other problems. Pinching the bridge of her nose in slight annoyance, a somewhat worried expression crossing her soft features, how she longed to be able to do her work without making a fool of herself. So many dishes and clothes had perished under her not so gentle care. This one gush on her hand was not the only reminder of her inability, she had several other scars covering her body, ungraceful tellers of her gaucherie.
She was not very feminine either. Been raised by her father, learning the art of the sword at young age, not knowing much of the reassuring hand of a loving mother. Her life was as her scars and as her room had been not an hour ago. And her dreams of a life away from all those troubles was only that. Who was she fooling? How dare she played as if there was nothing, keep on going like a carefree girl when all she did was wrong? She had traveled far, trying to understand something, searching a reason, chasing the shadow of her father, doing what she could to finish what he started, but ending in much more misery than she was to begin with. Maybe she should have stayed and marry that stupid man that they had chosen her. That way she would not have been so helpless and maybe, that fire that burned deep inside, that cry for something she could not even name and all those injuries, physical or mental, would have been avoided.
A soft tap at the door startled the girl who had been very far off and she regained consciousness of her surrounding. Her eyes drifted from her hand that was still throbbing, trying to grasp the meaning of such a noise. Where has it come from? Kaoru felt lost. That one night, awaking her past and the many hardship that had lead her hear hand send her mind into the uncertain roads of confusion. Not a day had passed without a moment of silence when her mind would suddenly drift away along the waves of memories and she was left wondering if she had do the right thing. She had to give so many things up. Her most priced possessions for the shining glow of money. A token that no one could go without. How she hated it, how she wished life would be easier, how she longed for those carefree moment, in the gardens, with her father. By then, life was a playground, joyous and she loved it. Now, she was nothing but anger, having gotten a sharp tongue and pushing away everything, even joy, hiding behind a mask of smiles and wild outbursts.
That knocking again. Who could it be? What did they wanted? Can't they leave her alone for once, just for this time, let her be, like the drifting soul she was and just get lost into the confusion of time, be forgotten and at peace. Was there a way for her to stop thinking? To be liberated of the headaches and the masquerade she had to play? But the tapping at her door won't stop, just as life can't stop flowing. So she got to her feet in an almost unconscious way, opening the door to a fist that ended its course barely in time not to connect with her head. Eyes, blue mist of lost, meant with a chest wrapped in blue clothing. Pink lips uttered a gentle yes, not really realizing they were speaking.
"Um… You're needed in the kitchen," gentle voice, deep and perplexed.
Yes, needed, she thought, and started to close the door not quite registering those words. The girl's eyes were once again on her hand as the shoji slid into a closure. But why can't it close completely? Maybe one hand is not enough. Using the injured one she started to push again, but it hurts and she can't stop the moan that came out. A gentle hand sized her left wrist and forced her grip off the door, turning her hand around and she looks up. A red head seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, crimson locks shielding worried eyes as they scanned the injury.
"It still had not healed?"
No, she thought, but in her mind, she had said it. Someone push her in and the door is finally shut. Strange, a door does not close by themselves, or maybe the laws of the universe suddenly changed? There was a gentle pressure on her shoulder, forcing her to a kneeling position, the blood like hair were still there, nagging at her memory, as if she should know, but her mind was just too far off. Sparkle-less sapphires returned to the torn palm of her left hand. Odd, last time she had looked, there was not another hand there, holding it firmly on a pair of laps that sat in front of her.
"It's infected… did you tried to tend it at all?"
Yes, but with all the housework it's just impossible to keep it clean. Of course, she thought it, her mind was still lost in a maze, but she was persuaded to have spoken those words.
"Kaoru-dono? Are you alright?"
This time, she did not even thought of an answer. How come she had began the day as a tornado and ended being like a body caught in the waves of a torrent, not able to grasp anything to steer her back to safe grounds. Suddenly, a hand firmly took hold of her shin and forced her lifeless eyes to stare at to shining orbs of soft lavender. The gaze of those pools were instance, forcing her to come back to reality and with a start she regain her senses. Kaoru blinked, thick black lashes batting the air, she looked around and than focused on the face that was very near hers. Too near it seemed.
"Kenshin!" was her first exclamation. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Matsu-dono wishes to see you in the kitchen," his reply was soft.
"Really? Then I must go," she was about to get up but his grip on her arm forced her back down. "Do you mind? I have work to do."
"Your hand has still not healed," he stated ignoring her demand for release.
"I know that," she snapped.
"Than sit down and let me treat it."
"You have no right to order me around!"
The swordsman smiled to himself, she was definitely back to normal. The last two weeks had been strange for both of them. Since their talk by the well, Kaoru had started to behave strangely, as if she was not herself anymore. One moment, she would be the normal easy-go-around girl who smiled to everyone and hit any man that would try to do something or just uttered some stupid misplace sentences. The other she would turn to a whirlwind of fury, shattering everything that would block her way to some unknown destination or simply for annoying her. Other times, she would become, as she had been not a few second from now, a lifeless doll, torn in between to worlds, lost in the vast maze of her crazed thinking.
He had tried many times to stop it, to prevent those strange reactions, but it was unavoidable it seemed. She would either hit him in her mad fury or drift away in a made up world where she could not even sense the movement that surrounded her. Maybe he should have stopped her from talking, or pushed her, encouraged her to speak of every details. He simply did not have a clue as to how to help her out of this, so he simply act as usual and nursed each new bruises she would so generously give him or lead her back to reality, as he had done, and pretend that nothing happed, trying to preserve her sanity. Is she knew of those eccentric mood swings, there was no telling on how she would react to the new.
"How many times did you change the bandages?" he asked, returning to the conversation.
"Once… maybe twice. It's not very important."
"It is. If you don't change it, it'll get infected, that it will. But as I can see, you already know it, for it's quite a mess you got there. You should be more careful, Kaoru-dono, that you should."
"Yes mother…" she exiled feeling beyond annoyed by the slight scowling she was receiving.
"Don't be mad. I just want to help you, that is all," he explained, laughter in his gentle voice.
"Sorry."
Kenshin shook his head and returned his attention to the wound. Diving a hand in the folds of his gi, he retrieved a small porcelain container and set it on the floor. Looking around, eyes searching for a roll of bandages. He spotted the table on his left and went to it, opening the drawer while talking gently to her.
"You know, you should have told me that it was still hurting."
Just as he was about to fully open the drawer it was firmly closed back before he had the chance to see anything. Looking up, his gaze met Kaoru's scowl. He was confused. It seemed that it was all he was feeling when around her, confusion and deeper confusion.
"There's nothing in there that should interest you. The bandages, if that's what you're looking for, are in the box right over there," she stated pointing at the small wooden container to their right.
He simply nodded and reached for it, lifting the light lid and there was the linen band among several other useful wound care utensils. The small man unwrapped a long part of it, cutting the fragile fabric of by tearing it apart and turned to her. He tried to take a hold of her left hand but she would not let him have his way it seems for she stubbornly kept her arms crossed over her chest, hands far from his reach. This was a problem.
"Kaoru-dono, please give me your hand," he tried.
"I don't need you're help, I can very well take care of myself. I'm a grown up girl you know," she sounded more like a spoiled brat than the grown up she was declaring herself to be.
That said, she turned around and started to make her way out of the room. He would not let her do that, however, and with the he only had the secret to, he blocked her way out. She glared at him, a threat to his life hanging in the fierceness of her hard look. Kenshin did not backed off though, mind set into helping her, either she want it or not, even if it meant more bruises for him.
"Let me pass, Matsu is waiting for me!" she said exasperated, pushing her way around him.
Thinking fast and seeing that her short fight to pass through him had left her hands unguarded, he gripped her left hand and poured some of his mixture into her palm. She hissed in pain and stare angrily back at him.
"It might hurt a little," he half joked.
"Thanks for the warning…"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The old woman sighed, finally some silence. The clashing and wrestling noises that had shaken to the walls of the edifice had started not a few hours ago, gaining intensity, than stopped completely for several minutes and started anew to finally come to long awaited closure. Urishima Matsura, affectingly called Matsu-san by her coworkers and some of the boys that rested within the paper walls of her inn, had no doubt in her mind as who was the source of such an early agitation. However, she had been surprised that none of the sleepers that surely had been awakened had come to request silence. Maybe they had an idea too and did not wish to become the first victim of the day. The matriarch was quite worried at Kaoru's new attitude. She was usually such a sweet child, with a wild temper she conceded, but never had she behaved such a violent way without so much as a tiny reason.
When the girl had come in, under Kogoro's request, Matsura had been delighted to have a young and spirited helper, but soon she found out that the what she thought would be of great help was much more of a trouble maker than anything else. The chief had been indulgent though, saying that her presence would help everyone, it was only a matter of time. Of course, the old woman had doubt it, the 15 years old girl was nothing but concern and axity for her aging nerves. Not only did she broke everything she touched, but she was not much of a cook. She remembered with a caring smile the first time, and the last too, she had asked the girl to prepare the night meal. Kaoru did warned her, but she thought it was nonsense, that every girls had it in their blood. What a catastrophe! Although it had smelled good and looked delicious in appearances, it was to the verge of been uneatable. Matsu had learned her lesson, never again would she ask the wild child to cook again.
When she had come the first time, she was as an untamed animal, dirty and wild, creating havoc wherever she would set foot. Over time though, and through much efforts from the parts of Chiharu, Midori and herself, she turned into a decent young woman although her temper tended to flare whenever someone came too close to her for her own comfort. Many had learned not to try anything on her, or else they would get a few broken ribs and nasty bruises. But with her around, the girls felt more secure, and the men stopped harassing them, becoming more cautious of their action, or else they wanted to lure the rage of the Kamiya Hurricane upon them. Life surely had became quite interesting since her arrival.
"I still could have done it myself!" came a distant feminine voice.
"But, Kaoru-dono, all you did was infecting it. At least now it'll heal, that it will," argued a second one, this time masculine.
The ancestor hid a smile. Those two were quite an amusing couple. The secretive and too polite redhead swordsman and the vivid and passionate young maid. It was a secret to no one that Kaoru was a very beautiful and charming woman, she was what made this inn so popular among the samurai and wandering swordsman, but usually she would stay far away from any specimen of the opposite sex. Matsura had been worried at first, wondering just what that unknown man, with nothing than a name and katana, would do to her pupil. Over the two years that had passed, she had grown feelings for the spirited girl, feeling like a grandmother to the poor orphan child, she could not help but care and worry over her relationships, wanting what was the best for her. However, nothing happened and they only developed a strong but fiery friendship that, Matsu was certain of, they both needed. She only hoped that nothing wrong would come out of it.
"And just what exactly were you doing up at that hour?" inquired Kaoru as she passed the door, Kenshin in tow.
"I, ah…"
"He was offering his help, child, which I am grateful of. Thank you, Himura-san, for bringing her here," inserted the matriarch.
"Matsu-san! You wished to see me?"
"Yes," she uttered looking up from her work. "There's a list over there, would you be kind enough to go and buy what is required?"
It did sound like a proposition, but Kaoru knew it was an obligation. Sighing, the young girl went to the designated place and took what had seemed to be a short listing of food and necessary utilities for the inn. Unfolding it, she discovered it was much more; the list went on and on, seemingly endless. Stiffing in a gasp, but falling in concealing it, she turned her ocean deep gaze to the smirking old woman. Kaoru's early outburst had not been unknown to the inn keeper and she was now taking her revenge by sending her out, alone, to retrieve things she was sure was not as needed as Matsu pretend it to be.
She harden her gaze in determination, if Matsura thought she would be bothered by it, than she was far from knowing the girl! And of course, being the stubborn woman she was, she would not let her dismays show. The raven haired girl walked with determination to the door, forcefully unhooking her coat from it's hanging position and opened the shoji only to be met by a very cold wind and icy flakes of snow. She grown, the elements were against her, what worst could be happening?
"You don't intend on going out there by yourself, Kaoru-chan?" uttered the old woman with an overly sweet voice that just steered more irritation from her younger counterpart.
"What else do you want me to do, Matsu-san. Surely you don't think that the food will come here all by itself?" came the reply dripping in sarcasm.
"It's too much for you," reasoned Matsura.
"What do you suggest then?"
The woman only fell in silence and took a side-glance to an unsuspecting Kenshin who had been standing by the other corner of the room in perfect silence and feeling quite out of place. Being a man of intuition, the look had not passed unnoticed from his part, however Kaoru had kept her eyes glued to the falling snow, annoyance hardening her usually soft face.
"M… Maybe I could accompany Kaoru-dono, that I could?" suggested the swordsman.
"That would be highly appreciated, wouldn't it Kaoru-chan?"
The girl looked back at them with a suspicious stare. She did not liked one bit the smile that Matsura was giving her, nor did she like the expression Kenshin had on his face. His lips were curving gently into a soft, companionate smile that would make her grateful in any other situation but today it just made her uneasy. She had felt tensed around him since the well incident, and she knew he had noticed it. He was not stupid, even though he tended to be quite the puzzled one when around her or anyone else for the matter. To his proposition, Kaoru simply surged and put on her cloak, passing the door, letting it open for him to follow her. If he were to offer his help, than she would not back off, it would have taken her many trips to the market to bring it all back all by herself. His help would be appreciated.
Kenshin took the unspoken message and went to the door, taking the long scarf Matsura was handing him. Now where that thing did came from? It was as if she had planned it all from the beginning. He sent her a suspicious glare to witch she act as if she had took no notice of, keeping her gaze to her work with a knowing smile playing on her aging face.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had been walking for quite some time, their pace slowed down by the large amount of snow that was covering the ground. The storm was slowly passing, the rate of flakes that fell from the heavens turning to a few fluffy crystalline fleck that eased down in a languorous dance, shoved about by the wind, before hitting the floor. Kaoru had been silent all the while, watching the white fluff with bemused eyes, shining with innocence, as if it had been the first time she saw snow. She simply marveled at the beauty of it, shining like diamond dust under that pale winter sun's ray.
Kenshin had watched her all along, finding it cute to see such a grown woman getting pleasure out of snowfall. It rarely snowed in Japan, the temperature usually to high, and the hot spring that came from the ocean, prevented it. But, now and then, there would be a snowfall, heavy and peaceful, lulling everyone, bringing smiles to every faces. It would not stay long, a few days and there would be no sign left of it, but for now, he simply enjoyed it, as much as Kaoru did.
The silence weighed upon the young woman, she hated it. Stealing a glance at Kenshin over her shoulder, she saw a strange smile that would just not get off his face. She growled impatiently, pulling the folds of her coat together to prevent the wind from getting in and freeze her more than she already was. Her toes were starting to feel numb leaving an uncomfortable feeling up her legs. Even though she loved snow, her nerves were too on the verge to appreciate it, and she was starting to get annoyed by the silence, punctuated by the sound of their footsteps cracking the snowed ground.
"Why the hell are you smiling like that? You're happy to go to the market on such a freezing temperature?" she snarled.
"You needed a hand, I'm merely offering both of mine," came his answer.
They were passing over a bridge by now, and she suddenly halted, frustration irradiating from her. Feeling nervous, Kenshin stopped to and watched her shivering form slowly turn to him, a look of death in her eyes. He was not easily scared, having seen much through is abnormally long life and being a man leaving through fights, but the glare she sent him simply froze him to a complete stop, wondering just what evil plots were scheming in her mind. Surely, she planned nothing good for him.
"You're doing this out of pity!" she accused him.
"I what?" he was truthfully baffled by her declaration.
"You heard me right! I suggest you go right back to the inn, I don't want you damn pity. I told you before, I can do things quite well by myself. I did came here from Edo alone!" she exclaimed, turning her back to him, all intention set on finishing her task alone. However, his voice stopped her.
"That's not it at all. I simply thought that by my helping you, I could get a smile back to your face, that I thought," he uttered, putting a hesitating hand on her shoulder. "You haven't been yourself since that night."
Kaoru looked down, lost in some pondering she only knew the direction. The cold wind played with her long black hair, shoving them around beautifully. She kept her mouth shut, staring at her wet feet, feeling foolish. She knew her behavior had changed, it was just that she could not help it. Confessing such things to someone was hard on her, she had never opened up so much, not even to her father. Talking about her time of travel had been harder on her than she had thought it would. It had reawaken some feelings and memories she had buried deep within herself, wishing to never see even the slightest part of it. And her story had not even been full, she had told only parts of it, leaving the worst part, those that would turn her stomach and make her feel dirty, off of it. But simply talking about it had reminded her of those dreaded moments and made her uneasy and emotionally unstable.
She peered over her shoulder, her blue eyes meeting his soft amethyst stare in a sheepish gaze. They had crossed the bridge by then and were standing silently by the roadside. Suddenly, she pushed him over, startling him. Being caught off guard, he felt heavily to the ground, the soft, feathery snow amortizing his fall. He stared up at her, she was towering him with a very strange look on her face, wind blowing black tendrils over it, shielding her gaze. A delicate hand brushed them behind her ear and he could clearly see her expression. A wide smile spread upon her pink lips and soon, she was bursting in laughter.
The sight of the man, sprawled on the snow, face shocked and startled was quite the amusing one. He who was known now as the most dangerous man alive, the Hittokiri Battousai, had been defeated by a mere slip of a girl, who was now mocking him openly. And soon, his own laugh joined hers, melding into a sole one, echoing through the their surrounding, turning the day even brighter than it had been. How he loved snowfalls.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The cold was biting on his flesh, and the fact that he was as heavily loaded as a mule did not help him. Not able to move, he could not recreate heat at all. He was seriously reconsidering his help proposition. She kept all the light packages for herself, leaving him under a towering pile of food and other articles that the old inn keeper had requested. Now, Kenshin was in the middle of the market road, alone and having been told by Kaoru to wait for her. Yet another thing he was wandering over. How could she so easily order him around? For all, he was older than her. Now that was quite a childish thought, but being buried under tones of baskets, packages and bags was not helping his thinking one bit. All he longed for was a place to rest.
"Where the hell is she?"
Not a street father than the awaiting Kenshin, the young raven haired girl was on her way to purchase the last item of her outing. However, the delicious smell of street cooking brought her to a small out door establishment where several passer bys were warming up and filling their empty stomachs. Her own belly was loudly demanding for a fill up, and she could just not deny it any longer. As she passed over the eating aria, her ears caught the ushered conversation of two man, speaking harshly under their breath. Curiosity got the better of her and she casually let her ears peer into their ranting.
"You sure about it? They got him?" asked a raspy voice.
"Damn sure. He knew the risks, but I thought he wouldn't be caught so soon," uttered a second one, a bit higher pitched than the first.
"You think it was him?"
"Who else do you think would have found out?"
"Guess we underestimated the man," snarled the first one.
"I don't really care about Urushi's death. What really bothers me is that no one would want to take his job over, knowing that Battousai's around. I surely wouldn't want to meet his blade!"
"Yeah, I heard he killed without a sound. Scary thing huh?"
"No one even knows what he looks like, it could be anybody," sighed the rasp voice.
"Don't even talk about it. It'll be even harder to find someone foolish enough to take Urushi's place."
"I wouldn't worry too much. Someone's covering it up for us. I don't know what he wants, but his help really is appreciated. Though I have no idea if he won't turn on us. He looks like a rat to me…" the voice trailed off.
Kaoru felt eyes on her, intense and peering, watching her every movement, or lack of at that moment. This forced her to action, moving as casual as possible, walking gracefully to the counter where a tall, fat man peered down at her, demanding her order in a very harsh way. She frowned and asked for a hot noodle bowl with a voice just as equally hard. Waiting, she tried to get more of the conversation, but it seemed the man had quieted down for she could not grasp more than a few words now and then. However, she was certain that one of them was still staring at her quite openly, making her uneasy. Her nervousness started to hit the highest rank possible without making her heart burst, when a hand took a firm hold of her shoulder, startling her.
The girl whirled around, ready to beat the living breath out of whoever touched her but was met with the familiar purple gaze of her redhead companion. Sighing, she hit his head with the back of her hand, a violent advice not to ever try and give her a heart attack again, or else he wanted to get a few more scars. Finally, the cook came with the noodle bowl, which Kenshin griped before she could even start to think about taking.
"Thank you very much, Kaoru-dono. How did you know that I was hungry?" he asked, face set in made up innocence.
"You're welcome," she growled under her breath, turning to order yet an other bowl.
The expert swordsman turned around, looking for a place to rest and eat, but instead glared at the man who had stared at the young girl. Kenshin's eyes were menacing, discouraging any treat before it even started to form into the back of the onlooker's mind, putting a protective hand over the girl's shoulder, clearly showing that she was not alone. The man's eyes grew wide and fearful, turning his shaking body around, wishing to steal away from the death-promising look. Somehow, the small man was convinced it would not be their last encounter.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
From the distance, another watcher had been silently observing the scene that had taken place at the outdoor restaurant. He had followed them all day long, peering in any of their conversation. A few times, he had gotten close on getting discovered, heart beat rising at an alarming rate, blood pounding in his ears, but he had been lucky. He thanked the god or spirit that had accompanied him, hiding him in some sort of darkness. However, he had been very surprised that Kenshin had not sensed his presence, maybe the man was not as good as everyone was saying.
"Kenshin?" he heard the girl ask as she pushed a few trends of silken black hair out of her face.
"Yes?"
"About… About what I told you that night…." she was hesitating.
That night? My, the observer thought, they had gotten very intimate. This would turn out to be more useful than any other kind of treacherous machination. How right he had been to come out in this bitter could, fallow them around. The chief would be very please, and his pocket would soon be full of money! He was so excited by the aspect that he did not felt the look that had passed over him for yet another time. Maybe he was not as good as he thought he was.
"Well, I…" she was not sure yet.
"What is it, Kaoru-dono?"
"If you tell a soul about it, I swear, Himura Kenshin that you won't live to see another day!" she finally declared.
"If that is all that had been bothering you. Don't worry, I'll be as silent and discreet as can be, that I will. Just promise me something."
"Don't try to black mail me!"
"No, I just don't want you to break your room apart in the morning again. I'd like to get some sleep once in a while," he smiled at her.
"If that's all you want, I think I can manage to do it…," she teased.
With that said, the onlooker smirked and turned around, getting lost in the crowd of anonymous existence, wishing to keep his the same. He had gathered all the information he needed. Ah, the satisfaction of a job well done, even the dirty ones.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
a/n: This time, we got 8 reviewers. Is it me or the numbers are decreasing? Maybe this story is not interesting enough. A big thanks to any who had reviewed, and also to those who did not, and I'm hoping that one day, they will.
Rekka's Angel: You know, that little moment was close not to exist at all. It was not in my plan but I thought that it would help the readers to understand a little bit the relationship I'm trying to describe. A from of platonic love somehow, I hope it turned out as I wanted it to be. Thanks for the complitment, its with reviews such as yours that keep writing ^-^
Imbri: I know you're not coming to this chapter yet, but I want to thanks each of your reviews. And hope you won't give up reading. I just love your long reviews, they make me laugh. ^-^ A bright light in my dark days.
omochi: Thanks for the precisions. I guess she has a very strong spirit not to clam up, as you said. I don't feel stupid anymore, it's just that my self-esteem flys low once in a while. Consequences of a childhood passed with a stressed mother and a far away father. Nothing too bad, I'm not the only one. At least, I'm working hard on it. ^-^ But I can't help feeling weird and insecure at some times. And déja vu is a French word. If you translate it words for word, it would be 'seen before' but it's hard to have an exact translation. There are English words that can't be translated, such as there are French words that have no equal in English. That's the reason why we got foreign expression in both our languages. And for Kenshin having a soft spot, he always had one. Remember that he had not been able to kill Tomoe as he should when she saw him kill.
Aga_xris: What was in the letter? If you can't figure it out yourself, you'll have to wait till I see it fits to reveal that secret. ^-^ What would be a good story without a bit of mystery? She does know how to use it, she lived with her father after all. But I don't know when I'll use that ability, surely it'll be for humorous sake only… Thanks a lot, I'm doing my best to describe everything as I see it in my head, but it's hard to write down feelings, did you ever tried to write a scene in slow motion? That's the worst of it.
Jason M. Lee: I guess I was not explaining enough the supernatural section of this fic, but I got wraped up in the emotions, as I usually am, and forgets that there is other stuff that I must play with in the story. That's good old me. And tell you want? Kaoru got very close to lost it, but I didn't say everything about her five years of wandering. I'm a very evil girl when I write, my poor characters always end up getting the worst back ground ever.
emsdesire: Thanks, I'm relieved to know that my spelling is not as catastrophic as some would describe it. And don't worry, I'll always write, even though it's hard, even though not many read, I'll just do it. It's in my blood!
Aerin: I got Seisou Hen part one and two by a friend of mine. (his such a cutie!) And part three and four from my uncle. Both had been downloaded from the net and are in a very high quality. I was SO happy. ^-^ And yes you can buy it in Québec, but it's English version from the US. Or, my favourite, original version subtitled in English. I also got Angel Sanctuary. (I just love Yuki's artwork!) Don't worry about asking questions, it's normal, curiosity is a sign of intelligence. (though they say curiosity killed the cat, but I like the first much better, at least I don't feel as if I'm doomed to death). And don't worry about my anemia, as long as I take my medication and am careful as to what I eat, I'll be alright. Thanks for the review anyway, and your concern. Yours is always one that I look forward to read. ^-^
Tree Nymph: I didn't know that I was impressive… Thanks a lot ^-^ You managed to get my cheeks a little red hew here. ^-^ Writing is a art in itself and I've been writing since I know how. I guess 12 years of practice finally paid off. I'm happy to know you're enjoying your reading, it's the sole purpose of writing!
Thanks for your review, and I hope I'll get a few more for this chapter, though I would understand if I get only one, or none. I really hate it, but it had to be written. See you next chapter in about two weeks!
