Act 8: Trouble in Tokyo- Part Three
Disclaimer: I'm running out of witty ways to say I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.
Notes: Whoo. I seem to have hit a hot streak in my one-author crusade against Seissouhen Depression Syndrome. I dunno. I read an angsty piece that deals with Seissouhen (or, in this case, re-read my own, by the title "Fallen".), and get all fired up to continue this madness. If anyone has suggestions for how to work Soujiro into the story (or an idea in general), fire an email my way (xellos_san@hotmail.com). And Jason- Virtually everywhere I've looked, it's spelled "desshi" with the two 's'es. And the way it sounds when pronounced in the anime, I think it sound more like there's a double s. Whee. In other news... wait. What other news? Blarg. On with the fic!
Yahiko stared. And stared some more. Then he rubbed
his eyes and looked again, needing a second opinion on the matter. He'd
walked into the room and found Kaoru. Out of sheer surprise, he'd shouted
"BUSU!". Which resulted in the laundry tub being flung at him with a resounding
shout of "BAKA!" from the ghost in question.
Which brought the situation to its current point.
A stunned Yahiko gawking at a grinning Kaoru, through which the wall could
be seen.
"K-KAORU?!" The young man finally blurted out.
"Took you long enough to figure that out, Yahiko-CHAN!"
Kaoru retorted with a grin. Out of reflex, Yahiko fumed and tried to bring
his bokken down on the raccoon's head. The ghost just about burst into
hysterics when the weapon passed harmlessly through her apparition, and
Yahiko ended up falling flat on his face due to his momentum.
All the yelling quickly drew the attention of the
other people in the dojo, and Kaoru made a tactical retreat as Shinta appeared
by her side, studying the scene. The two ghosts watched with wide grins
as a newly-returned Tsubame and Kenji arrived and inquired as to what was
the matter. Kenji was fully aware that both his parents were present, but
didn't say anything.
"Yahiko-kun, what happened?" The redhead inquired
innocently.
"I don't know!" Yahiko sat up and rubbed his battered
nose. "I swear, I just saw Kaoru- ur..." He trailed off and looked at Kenji
apologetically for the reminder.
"Okaasan?" Kenji raised an eyebrow and kept his
expression carefully innocent. "Ano, Yahiko-kun, are you feeling all right?"
Tsubame knelt by her Tokyo samurai and felt his
forehead. "Ne, you do feel a little warm."
"That's because I just took a nose-dive!" Yahiko
insisted, flailing in the general direction of where he'd seen the ghost.
"I swear! She even flung the laundry bucket at me when I called her busu!"
Kenji looked at the overturned tub in question.
"Ne, Yahiko-kun, maybe you should rest?"
"Where's Megumi-san?" Tsubame looked up. "Maybe
she can figure out what's wrong with Yahiko-san?"
"Nothing's wrong with me!" Yahiko insisted. Kenji
tried to think of an excuse as to why Megumi hadn't come to see what the
yelling was about.
"Um... Megumi-san is... resting." The redhead sweatdropped.
"She is-?" Yahiko looked over at Kenji. "... She
saw a ghost, too, I bet!"
Kenji sweatdropped more. "Ano... Yahiko-kun, why
are you so suddenly obsessed with ghosts?"
"I'm NOT obsessed! I just SAW one! That's more than
a little weird!" Yahiko flailed.
The two ghosts decided to leave the dojo for a little
while and exchange stories while visiting favorite locales in town.
"Kaoru-dono, you might want to know that Kenji-kun
can see us." Shinta explained with a sweatdrop.
"Nani-?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?! Why didn't
he say anything when we were in the room?!" Kaoru grabbed the redhead by
the front of his 'shirt', and shook him.
"Ororororo!" Shinta oroed in time with the shaking.
"I didn't have the chance, and I don't know why Kenji-kun didn't tell the
others, that I don't!"
Kaoru released her hubby and looked thoughtful.
"Well, Tomoe-san did mention that it's easier for relatives to see or sense
spirits. That's why Enishi was so fixated on her or something."
"Oro..." Shinta sweatdropped at mention of his first
wife and shook the swirlies from his eyes.
After strolling through the market, Kaoru spotted
a familiar face.
"Oh, there's Mieko-chan." She noted, filching a
blue ribbon from a merchant's wares that caught her fancy. The two ghosts
ended up tagging along after the girl, curious to see if she was going
to visit Kenji again. In the days following their meeting, the two had
been often in each other's company. Kaoru grinned mischievously and let
the ribbon she'd taken flutter to the ground well ahead of Mieko, who picked
it up curiously when she came upon the rich blue length of silk. She glanced
around, wondering who had dropped it, but saw no one vaguely nearby. Kaoru
giggled with glee as the girl shrugged and tied her hair up with the ribbon.
"She and Kenji would make an adorable couple!" Kaoru
grinned.
"Oro-!" Shinta fell over. "Ano, Kaoru-dono, don't
you think it's a little rude for ghosts to be playing matchmaker?"
"Never! Besides, I doubt there's much 'matchmaking'
to do, Shinta!" Kaoru smiled at the redhead. "Kenji's got eyes only for
her! Or hadn't you noticed?"
Shinta sweatdropped and didn't answer. He had caught
the two kids making eyes at each other several times.
Kenji met her outside the dojo, and the two proceeded
back toward town. The two ghosts, curious as to where the kids were going,
followed. While passing through the sakura trees, which were still blooming,
Kenji came to a stop, sakabatou wrapped and propped against one shoulder.
He glanced around and caught sight of the two ghosts nearby.
"Kenji-kun? Is something wrong?" Mieko looked at
the redhead.
Kenji shook his head and pointed a glare in the
direction of the ghosts while Mieko wasn't looking. "I'll tell you about
it later. By the way, that ribbon looks nice on you."
Mieko blushed slightly at the compliment. "Arigatou."
The rest of the conversation was lost to the two
spirits, being that they caught the hint and stopped following the pair.
"He really did see us." Kaoru blinked, following
Shinta back toward the dojo.
Megumi and Yahiko were loudly comparing stories
over dinner when the two ghosts arrived. Tsubame was looking confusedly
between the two, a sweatdrop sliding down the back of her head.
"So you saw Kenshin in the dojo?" Yahiko double-checked.
"Talking to Kenji? Like there wasn't anything weird about the situation?"
"Hai." Megumi nodded, sipping some sake. (Tea had
been dubbed not strong enough for the situation.) "Ken-san... assuming
that was him, even smiled and told me good morning!" The fox doctor paled
and sweatdropped at the recollection. "And Kenji asked if I believed in
ghosts... after which..." Megumi sweatdropped. "I apparently fainted."
"So Kenji knows something..." Yahiko looked thoughtful.
"I swear I saw Kaoru in the storage shed. Out of habit I called her busu,
she reacted and I got clobbered by the laundry bucket! And I can tell you
that bucket wasn't just simply on a shelf and fell on me. It was on the
ground!"
Tsubame sweatdropped, but didn't offer up the possibility
that the two had both simply lost it. It wasn't too terribly likely that
Yahiko had jumped off the deep end, and Megumi always struck her as being
a very level-headed woman. So she listened to the ghost stories.
"When Kenji returns from dinner with Mieko-chan,
we'll have to find out what he knows." Megumi nodded sagely.
"Yeah! That sneak!" Yahiko agreed wholeheartedly.
"I bet that's how he knows Ryu Tsui Sen, too! I bet he learned it from
Kenshin!"
"Oro..." Shinta sweatdropped at the spectacle.
"Poor Kenji." Kaoru nodded agreement with her hubby's
'oro'. "They'd better be nice when they ask him about it."
Shinta nodded and watched Megumi and Yahiko plotting
how best to interrogate his son.
Author's notes: Whee! Another cliffhanger! I figure the gig at the dojo
will be up next chapter. Can you just see Megumi and Yahiko with demon
eyes confronting poor Kenji? ^^;; Everyone's reactions to the confirmation
that our favorite ghosties are hanging around and that Kaoru did in fact
chuck the laundry bucket at Yahiko ought to be pretty hysterical. I mean,
how does one react to that sort of news? "Oh, that's great, hi Kenshin!"?
By the way, am I the ONLY fanfic author out there
trying to combat Seissouhen Depression Syndrome? And are there any people
interested in a possible email notification list to let them know Twisted
Paradise has been updated? And as always, reviews are appreciated! So are
suggestions for the story. If I use someone's suggestion, I will give credit
where it is due. =) (What else are these author blurbs for? =p)
And by the way, I'm not sure, but I think something/one
touched me on the shoulder while writing this chapter. Thankfully I didn't
jump quite as badly (not being overtired helps, I'm sure), which is good,
as I REALLY don't want to add to my already impressively bruised knees.
Must get imoutosan on the Ouija board with me. Must figure out this mystery.
@_@ Until next time, minna-san!