Sano turned to face Megumi.
"You think Jou-Chan would do that?"
Megumi thought for a second.
"The tanuki girl really isn't very strait forward with relationships, so I doubt she'd ever kiss Ken-san without his consent… but… since he needs her to… I think she might."
Both turned to run back to the dojo, when the old man stopped them.
"What? You aren't even going to thank me for telling you the cure?"
Sano gave him a scary look. Megumi shot the man an icy glare.
"Are you kidding?" she asked angrily. "You're the one who got us into this mess!"
The old man shrugged, unrepentant, and retreated back into his little home.
"Ugh…" Megumi sighed, exasperated. "Let's go."
Her and Sano both hurried back through the street, towards the dojo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little over an hour later, they arrived at the gates. They both burst through them and ran into the dojo.
They made their way through the home, searching the training area, the yard, the kitchen, Kaoru's room… and eventually they found the two people they were looking for, snuggled up on the futon in Kenshin's room.
Megumi slowly approached Kaoru, reluctant to wake the girl sleeping so peacefully.
"Hey… tanuki… wake up…"
Gradually, Kaoru woke up. She gasped when she saw Megumi and Sano.
"How long have I been asleep?" she whispered quietly, not wanting to wake up little Shinta.
Sano shrugged. "It's nearly time for dinner now, Jou-Chan."
Again, she let out a soft gasp. She carefully unwrapped her arms from around Kenshin and crawled out of the futon. She walked out of the room with Sano and Megumi behind her. She slid the door shut behind them.
"I can't believe I slept that long… did you two find that old man?"
Sano nodded. "Yeah, we found him."
Kaoru's eyes lit up, joyful at the thought of getting her sweet rurouni back.
"And? What did he say?"
Megumi dropped her head. "The spell he cast is irreversible… he cannot undo it, but it will wear off eventually… after a few years…"
"Oh…" Kaoru's eyes dulled again. The smile forming on her lips disappeared.
Megumi raised her head back up again to look at Kaoru. She was smiling, and Kaoru could almost swear she saw a wicked gleam in the doctor's eyes.
"What?" Kaoru asked. She didn't know how the woman could smile at a time like this.
"There is one way that you can restore Ken-san, without having to wait a few years…"
Kaoru's eyes lit up again as quickly as they'd dulled. "What?! What is it?!"
Megumi's smile widened. Sano watched them both, deciding to keep quiet for now.
"To bring back Ken-san, you must give him true love's first kiss."
Sano nearly burst out laughing at the bright red Kaoru's face turned after that comment.
"I- I-… b-but… um… Megumi-san… h-how do you know I'm Kenshin's true love?"
Megumi rolled her eyes. "It's a universal knowledge that you and Ken-san seemed to have missed out on…"
Sano smirked and nodded. "She's right…"
Kaoru stared at them both. "B-but… I… I couldn't do that…"
Megumi crossed her arms. "And just why not? If I was Ken-san's true love, I would not be hesitating."
Kaoru was stuttering badly. "I-I… I- um… Kenshin was supposed…" Her voice trailed off.
Megumi uncrossed her arms. "What? Ken-san was supposed to what?"
Kaoru blushed even harder. "K-KENSHIN was supposed to be the one to kiss ME…"
Sano stared at her. "Why does it matter who makes the first move?"
"I-I-It doesn't mean anything if I'm the one to kiss him… if h-he kisses me… then I know how he feels…"
Megumi wanted to scream at the girl. "Kaoru no BAKA! He is a baby now, and he will stay that way for a long time if you don't do this! Now, what is more important to you, having him or waiting for him to make the first move?"
Sano nodded, cutting in. "Besides, it's not like he'll remember it anyway."
Kaoru nodded slowly. "Alright… fine…"
Sano and Megumi both grinned, simultaneously.
"Great." They both said together. Unrehearsed.
Megumi smiled. "I'll go prepare the dinner for you, Kaoru-chan. Afterwards, you can kiss Kenshin." She said it as though it were an every day occurrence.
Kaoru smiled weakly and nodded. She retreated back into Kenshin's bedroom, with every intention of hugging every last ounce of comfort from the child before waking him up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 hours later, they were all sitting in the kitchen, quietly eating the simple meal Megumi had prepared.
Kaoru was eating slowly, little by little, still very nervous about what they were all asking her to do.
Sano ate like he always did. Like a garbage disposal. Within minutes, he'd eaten through 6 platefuls of the meal, and was still going.
Megumi was busy, trying to feed Kenshin more of the mashed up rice and eat quickly herself.
Yahiko was still somewhere with Tae and Tsubame. Megumi and Kaoru assumed that he'd intended to stay the night. If it had been under any other circumstances, Kaoru would have been upset that he hadn't told her earlier, but considering…..
She would be letting him off easy.
After a few more minutes of eating, Megumi finally finished feeding herself and Kenshin, and Sano had eaten everything that he could, and was fairly content. Kaoru still hadn't finished, but no one was intending to wait for her. She'd barely touched her meal at all.
Megumi smiled and picked up little Kenshin. She kissed him lightly on the forehead before handing him to Kaoru. Kaoru looked down at the child, then back up at Megumi. She was having a lot of second thoughts.
Megumi smirked. "It's not that hard, Kaoru-chan. Just put your lips together with his, okay? Simple, ne?"
Kaoru frowned and looked back down at Kenshin. She propped his head up under her arm and leaned her head closer to his. She glanced down at his tiny lips and noticed that some of the mushed rice was still on them. His breath made tiny bubbles in the almost liquid puddle.
Kaoru pulled herself away from him and handed him back to Megumi. "I can't do this."
Megumi frowned. "Come on, tanuki-chan! Kissing a baby isn't all that disgusting! You have to do this!"
Kaoru glanced down. "I just can't… What if Kenshin ever found out?"
"Ugh…" Megumi rolled her eyes. Then she looked at Sano.
"He won't! We won't tell him! We swear…"
Megumi nodded. "Right."
Kaoru shook her head. "I… I just can't. Maybe tomorrow or something…"
She stood up and walked out of the room.
Megumi and Sano both looked at each other.
"Well…" Sano stated. "I wasn't invited to stay the night here… but, I think it's pretty safe to say I can… for tonight…"
Megumi smiled and nodded. "I suppose so. Keep an eye on Kaoru-chan while you're here."
She gave him a small wave before turning around and walking out of the dojo.
Sano waved after her and turned around as well. He walked into the guest bedroom and lay himself down on the futon.
He yawned, stretched, and fell asleep in minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in her room, Kaoru still couldn't get to sleep.
She tossed and turned in her bed, not finding any comfort.
She frowned as she finally gave up on falling asleep. She pulled herself off of her futon and wandered out of her room. She walked back and forth through the dojo for a few minutes, too tired to be sure where her feet were taking her. She eventually ended up standing outside Kenshin's room.
Kaoru stared at the door for a minute before sliding it open and stepping inside. She found the Kenshin sitting on the end of his futon, and looking out the window.
He was gazing at the stars… just like the night before, the light was illuminating his hair and brightening his eyes… Kaoru let out a soft gasp and walked over to him. She sat down beside him.
"Shinta…" she said quietly. "Why do you watch the stars?"
Little Kenshin turned to her and smiled brightly. "Mommy tells me that the stars are what c-connect the earth and the heavens… I think they're pretty… you're pretty too..."
Kaoru smiled. "Thanks… you seem very grown up for your age, you know… I guess you always did when you were young… now that you're older, you always act so young... I guess we all forget that you arn't, sometimes…" Her voice trailed off as the thoughts rushed through her head.
Kenshin just smiled at her, having not understood half of what she just said. He scooted back into her lap and leaned his head back into her. He snuggled himself into a comfortable spot in the crook of her arm.
Kaoru watched him, her thoughts fading away to silence. 'Even when you're this young... you still have the key to my heart, Kenshin...'
Slowly, she leaned her head forward towards his. She hesitated a moment before planting a soft kiss on the child's lips. "Good night, Shinta."
"Night" the boy whispered. He soon fell asleep.
Gradually, Kaoru fell asleep too, finding comfort in the warmth from the sleeping child laying with next to her.
(A/N- to be continued tomorrow... ^^ Maybe Kenshin will be better tomorrow morning? Stay tuned.)
"You think Jou-Chan would do that?"
Megumi thought for a second.
"The tanuki girl really isn't very strait forward with relationships, so I doubt she'd ever kiss Ken-san without his consent… but… since he needs her to… I think she might."
Both turned to run back to the dojo, when the old man stopped them.
"What? You aren't even going to thank me for telling you the cure?"
Sano gave him a scary look. Megumi shot the man an icy glare.
"Are you kidding?" she asked angrily. "You're the one who got us into this mess!"
The old man shrugged, unrepentant, and retreated back into his little home.
"Ugh…" Megumi sighed, exasperated. "Let's go."
Her and Sano both hurried back through the street, towards the dojo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little over an hour later, they arrived at the gates. They both burst through them and ran into the dojo.
They made their way through the home, searching the training area, the yard, the kitchen, Kaoru's room… and eventually they found the two people they were looking for, snuggled up on the futon in Kenshin's room.
Megumi slowly approached Kaoru, reluctant to wake the girl sleeping so peacefully.
"Hey… tanuki… wake up…"
Gradually, Kaoru woke up. She gasped when she saw Megumi and Sano.
"How long have I been asleep?" she whispered quietly, not wanting to wake up little Shinta.
Sano shrugged. "It's nearly time for dinner now, Jou-Chan."
Again, she let out a soft gasp. She carefully unwrapped her arms from around Kenshin and crawled out of the futon. She walked out of the room with Sano and Megumi behind her. She slid the door shut behind them.
"I can't believe I slept that long… did you two find that old man?"
Sano nodded. "Yeah, we found him."
Kaoru's eyes lit up, joyful at the thought of getting her sweet rurouni back.
"And? What did he say?"
Megumi dropped her head. "The spell he cast is irreversible… he cannot undo it, but it will wear off eventually… after a few years…"
"Oh…" Kaoru's eyes dulled again. The smile forming on her lips disappeared.
Megumi raised her head back up again to look at Kaoru. She was smiling, and Kaoru could almost swear she saw a wicked gleam in the doctor's eyes.
"What?" Kaoru asked. She didn't know how the woman could smile at a time like this.
"There is one way that you can restore Ken-san, without having to wait a few years…"
Kaoru's eyes lit up again as quickly as they'd dulled. "What?! What is it?!"
Megumi's smile widened. Sano watched them both, deciding to keep quiet for now.
"To bring back Ken-san, you must give him true love's first kiss."
Sano nearly burst out laughing at the bright red Kaoru's face turned after that comment.
"I- I-… b-but… um… Megumi-san… h-how do you know I'm Kenshin's true love?"
Megumi rolled her eyes. "It's a universal knowledge that you and Ken-san seemed to have missed out on…"
Sano smirked and nodded. "She's right…"
Kaoru stared at them both. "B-but… I… I couldn't do that…"
Megumi crossed her arms. "And just why not? If I was Ken-san's true love, I would not be hesitating."
Kaoru was stuttering badly. "I-I… I- um… Kenshin was supposed…" Her voice trailed off.
Megumi uncrossed her arms. "What? Ken-san was supposed to what?"
Kaoru blushed even harder. "K-KENSHIN was supposed to be the one to kiss ME…"
Sano stared at her. "Why does it matter who makes the first move?"
"I-I-It doesn't mean anything if I'm the one to kiss him… if h-he kisses me… then I know how he feels…"
Megumi wanted to scream at the girl. "Kaoru no BAKA! He is a baby now, and he will stay that way for a long time if you don't do this! Now, what is more important to you, having him or waiting for him to make the first move?"
Sano nodded, cutting in. "Besides, it's not like he'll remember it anyway."
Kaoru nodded slowly. "Alright… fine…"
Sano and Megumi both grinned, simultaneously.
"Great." They both said together. Unrehearsed.
Megumi smiled. "I'll go prepare the dinner for you, Kaoru-chan. Afterwards, you can kiss Kenshin." She said it as though it were an every day occurrence.
Kaoru smiled weakly and nodded. She retreated back into Kenshin's bedroom, with every intention of hugging every last ounce of comfort from the child before waking him up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 hours later, they were all sitting in the kitchen, quietly eating the simple meal Megumi had prepared.
Kaoru was eating slowly, little by little, still very nervous about what they were all asking her to do.
Sano ate like he always did. Like a garbage disposal. Within minutes, he'd eaten through 6 platefuls of the meal, and was still going.
Megumi was busy, trying to feed Kenshin more of the mashed up rice and eat quickly herself.
Yahiko was still somewhere with Tae and Tsubame. Megumi and Kaoru assumed that he'd intended to stay the night. If it had been under any other circumstances, Kaoru would have been upset that he hadn't told her earlier, but considering…..
She would be letting him off easy.
After a few more minutes of eating, Megumi finally finished feeding herself and Kenshin, and Sano had eaten everything that he could, and was fairly content. Kaoru still hadn't finished, but no one was intending to wait for her. She'd barely touched her meal at all.
Megumi smiled and picked up little Kenshin. She kissed him lightly on the forehead before handing him to Kaoru. Kaoru looked down at the child, then back up at Megumi. She was having a lot of second thoughts.
Megumi smirked. "It's not that hard, Kaoru-chan. Just put your lips together with his, okay? Simple, ne?"
Kaoru frowned and looked back down at Kenshin. She propped his head up under her arm and leaned her head closer to his. She glanced down at his tiny lips and noticed that some of the mushed rice was still on them. His breath made tiny bubbles in the almost liquid puddle.
Kaoru pulled herself away from him and handed him back to Megumi. "I can't do this."
Megumi frowned. "Come on, tanuki-chan! Kissing a baby isn't all that disgusting! You have to do this!"
Kaoru glanced down. "I just can't… What if Kenshin ever found out?"
"Ugh…" Megumi rolled her eyes. Then she looked at Sano.
"He won't! We won't tell him! We swear…"
Megumi nodded. "Right."
Kaoru shook her head. "I… I just can't. Maybe tomorrow or something…"
She stood up and walked out of the room.
Megumi and Sano both looked at each other.
"Well…" Sano stated. "I wasn't invited to stay the night here… but, I think it's pretty safe to say I can… for tonight…"
Megumi smiled and nodded. "I suppose so. Keep an eye on Kaoru-chan while you're here."
She gave him a small wave before turning around and walking out of the dojo.
Sano waved after her and turned around as well. He walked into the guest bedroom and lay himself down on the futon.
He yawned, stretched, and fell asleep in minutes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back in her room, Kaoru still couldn't get to sleep.
She tossed and turned in her bed, not finding any comfort.
She frowned as she finally gave up on falling asleep. She pulled herself off of her futon and wandered out of her room. She walked back and forth through the dojo for a few minutes, too tired to be sure where her feet were taking her. She eventually ended up standing outside Kenshin's room.
Kaoru stared at the door for a minute before sliding it open and stepping inside. She found the Kenshin sitting on the end of his futon, and looking out the window.
He was gazing at the stars… just like the night before, the light was illuminating his hair and brightening his eyes… Kaoru let out a soft gasp and walked over to him. She sat down beside him.
"Shinta…" she said quietly. "Why do you watch the stars?"
Little Kenshin turned to her and smiled brightly. "Mommy tells me that the stars are what c-connect the earth and the heavens… I think they're pretty… you're pretty too..."
Kaoru smiled. "Thanks… you seem very grown up for your age, you know… I guess you always did when you were young… now that you're older, you always act so young... I guess we all forget that you arn't, sometimes…" Her voice trailed off as the thoughts rushed through her head.
Kenshin just smiled at her, having not understood half of what she just said. He scooted back into her lap and leaned his head back into her. He snuggled himself into a comfortable spot in the crook of her arm.
Kaoru watched him, her thoughts fading away to silence. 'Even when you're this young... you still have the key to my heart, Kenshin...'
Slowly, she leaned her head forward towards his. She hesitated a moment before planting a soft kiss on the child's lips. "Good night, Shinta."
"Night" the boy whispered. He soon fell asleep.
Gradually, Kaoru fell asleep too, finding comfort in the warmth from the sleeping child laying with next to her.
(A/N- to be continued tomorrow... ^^ Maybe Kenshin will be better tomorrow morning? Stay tuned.)