Author's Note: Gomenasai! I'm terribly sorry that I haven't updated in a
while! I started another story and then I was just plain lazy. -_-; I'll
try to update more often, but not as much as I did before. At least twice a
day isn't a schedule I can keep up with anymore.
-_- And sorry, but this chapter is a little confusing. There's a lot of
information I wanted to get out and not a lot of time to do it evenly so I
kinda crammed it all in here. Gomen. ^_^; And unfortunately the next
chapter will be pretty intense too. So many apologies..@_@
End Of Last Chapter: So everybody got up and left to go shopping, but no one knew what old friends this shopping spree would bring....
Chapter Seventeen: The Squirrel
With the girls in the lead, all the guys tried hard to keep up with them. Every second one of them would stop and check over an item they liked, and every other time would buy it. While browsing through some small shops, Ayame found what she stated was 'the perfect gift' for Soujiro. She bought it and stuffed it in her hakama. 'He's gonna love it!' She was so excited she started skipping. Strangely, Ayame had a sudden urge to go towards a little corner store, so she ran ahead of the pack. She saw it was an artillery store and went inside to see if she could enlarger her own collection. Immediately she saw a staff hanging on the wall that looked very much like her own. She ran up to it and was surprised by an elderly woman. "Oh my. It's been such a long time. I see you've grown into quite the young woman Ayame-chan." Ayame turned around and stared at the small woman in front of her. She looked the woman over carefully, trying to remember where she'd seen her before. "You! You..you're the..the wise woman!" The lady smiled. "You always did have a good memory. How are you Ayame-chan?" "I'm...I'm fine. How did you find me?" "It's actually the other way around. You found me." Ayame smiled faintly. "Oh gee. I have so many questions to ask. First off, what may I call you?" "Motoko. You may call me Motoko." "Very well then Motoko-sama." Ayame hesitated. "May...may I ask what ever happened...what happened to them?" Motoko paused. "I'm sorry to say that they're both gone. Your mother grew very ill after they left you and she passed away shortly after. Your father with all his grief killed himself from losing the both of you. They were a terrible mess after that night. They missed you so much, and the villagers now thought less of them for giving up their only child. But when they went back to get you, you were already gone." Ayame looked at the ground. "I see." "Enough with all the sad talk. I have a gift for you." "Oh?" Motoko went to the wall and picked up the staff Ayame had looked at. "What I gave you that night was part of a two piece set. This is the other part." She handed the staff to Ayame. It was plain just like hers, and had writing engraved in it. She read it carefully, going over the words in her head. 'Love Lasts Forever And Always' Down further in a more discreet spot were more words. 'Remember it and you shall never lose it' Ayame folded it down to a small stick. "Thank you, but if you've had this all along, why give it to me now?" Motoko smiled. "Because it's not meant for you. It's a pair. They're partners. You have a partner too you know." Ayame smiled. "Yes. Yes I do."
Just then a tall man with dark hair and a cigarette in his mouth came up to them. He took one look at Ayame and thought aloud, "Squirrel?". Motoko laughed. "That's the same thing you called her when you first met her." Ayame looked at the man. "Saitou Hajime? I don't recall ever meeting him before." Saitou's face tightened. "How do you know my name?" Motoko interrupted them. "Saitou, this is Ayame-chan. She's a very special girl. You met her when you were quite a bit younger. She had only turned two years old. Do you remember?" Saitou traced his thoughts back to when he supposedly met Ayame. "Yes I remember." Ayame was really confused. "I've met Saitou-san when I was two? That means...was I still in your village? Why was he there? Oooh this is mind boggling." Motoko laughed. "Yes you were still in the village, and Saitou was there visiting me and his grandfather." There was a brief silence. "You..you're his grandmother?! Well that explains a lot!" "Maybe so, but I still don't know why this has anything to do with you." They both turned to Saitou. "Saitou this is Shinta Ayame. She's a old friend of mine." They were interrupted when the rest of the Kenshin-gumi walked in. "There she is!" Everyone ran up to them. "Ayame! Where have you been? We've been looking for you!" Saitou's face went blank. He looked at all the women standing in front of him. Starting with Kaoru. "Raccoon.." Then Megumi. "Fox..." Next Misao. "Weasel." Finally Ayame. "Squirrel." Mrs. Hajime laughed again. "Ayame, you remember that dagger I gave you?" "Yah." "That was part of the reason for the design." They both laughed. "I get it now. Hahaha. That's a good one." (AN: That's an inside joke. No one else got it. I hope u did though.) Everyone else was darting their eyes back and forth trying to decipher the situation. Kaoru spoke first. "Saitou?! Ayame! What are you doing with this guy?!" "Saitou-san is apparently the grandson of my old neighbor." Soujiro came up front and looked at Saitou and the woman. Saitou gave him a look of disgust. "So Battousai has befriended the enemy. How like him to do something so stupid." Ayame was getting ticked off now from the numerous times of explaining the obvious. "Look you, lets get this straight. Soujiro is NOT the enemy. He's no one's enemy, and if I have to explain that one more time there's gonna be hell to pay, understand?!" Everyone sighed at her sudden outburst while Saitou put in a 'Whatever'. Soujiro was still eyeing the woman. "Ayame-chan...is this the woman that gave you those gifts?" Ayame and Mrs. Hajime smiled. "Yep. Somehow we managed to meet again." Saitou's mind went back on track. "Oh, obachan, I came to tell you I have to go to a meeting with a former colleague of mine." Like it was some sort of signal, the colleague of Saitou's walked in. "Gorou-san, what's taking so long?" He stopped when he saw Ayame. "Oh what a surprise! Gorou, you didn't tell me you knew Ayame-chan!" "And you never told me that you knew her either.", Saitou (aka-Gorou) replied. "Yes I did! This is the girl I was telling you about! The one who helps the police force!" He turned to Ayame. "How are you Ayame-chan?" Ayame smiled. "I'm fine, thank you. You never mentioned it was Fujita-san you were visiting. What a small world it is. Officer Jirun, you remember Soujiro-kun right?" The man glanced at Soujiro. "Yes, of course I do! Have you guys had fun here in Tokyo?" Soujiro nodded. Everyone else's heads were spinning. "This..is so...confusing!", Yahiko stated. Ayame turned to them. "Oh I'm sorry! This is Officer Jirun. He's the chief of police in Sokada. That's the town I live in. I often help him out catching thieves and such." "Ahhhh.", they all said in unison. Saitou cut in. "This is the girl? Very well. Come with us Ayame-chan. We have a matter of business to discuss." He turned to Kenshin. "You should come too Battousai." "Alright, but if we come so should everyone else. Is that acceptable?", Ayame requested. "Whatever. Just hurry up." With that, everyone followed him to the back of the store.
End Of Chapter
AN: Yes..on with the next chapter...hehehehe. I'm getting closer to the end so keep reviewing until then! And thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far! Apparently I'm a talented writer! Teehee! lol. Arigatou and Sayonara!
End Of Last Chapter: So everybody got up and left to go shopping, but no one knew what old friends this shopping spree would bring....
Chapter Seventeen: The Squirrel
With the girls in the lead, all the guys tried hard to keep up with them. Every second one of them would stop and check over an item they liked, and every other time would buy it. While browsing through some small shops, Ayame found what she stated was 'the perfect gift' for Soujiro. She bought it and stuffed it in her hakama. 'He's gonna love it!' She was so excited she started skipping. Strangely, Ayame had a sudden urge to go towards a little corner store, so she ran ahead of the pack. She saw it was an artillery store and went inside to see if she could enlarger her own collection. Immediately she saw a staff hanging on the wall that looked very much like her own. She ran up to it and was surprised by an elderly woman. "Oh my. It's been such a long time. I see you've grown into quite the young woman Ayame-chan." Ayame turned around and stared at the small woman in front of her. She looked the woman over carefully, trying to remember where she'd seen her before. "You! You..you're the..the wise woman!" The lady smiled. "You always did have a good memory. How are you Ayame-chan?" "I'm...I'm fine. How did you find me?" "It's actually the other way around. You found me." Ayame smiled faintly. "Oh gee. I have so many questions to ask. First off, what may I call you?" "Motoko. You may call me Motoko." "Very well then Motoko-sama." Ayame hesitated. "May...may I ask what ever happened...what happened to them?" Motoko paused. "I'm sorry to say that they're both gone. Your mother grew very ill after they left you and she passed away shortly after. Your father with all his grief killed himself from losing the both of you. They were a terrible mess after that night. They missed you so much, and the villagers now thought less of them for giving up their only child. But when they went back to get you, you were already gone." Ayame looked at the ground. "I see." "Enough with all the sad talk. I have a gift for you." "Oh?" Motoko went to the wall and picked up the staff Ayame had looked at. "What I gave you that night was part of a two piece set. This is the other part." She handed the staff to Ayame. It was plain just like hers, and had writing engraved in it. She read it carefully, going over the words in her head. 'Love Lasts Forever And Always' Down further in a more discreet spot were more words. 'Remember it and you shall never lose it' Ayame folded it down to a small stick. "Thank you, but if you've had this all along, why give it to me now?" Motoko smiled. "Because it's not meant for you. It's a pair. They're partners. You have a partner too you know." Ayame smiled. "Yes. Yes I do."
Just then a tall man with dark hair and a cigarette in his mouth came up to them. He took one look at Ayame and thought aloud, "Squirrel?". Motoko laughed. "That's the same thing you called her when you first met her." Ayame looked at the man. "Saitou Hajime? I don't recall ever meeting him before." Saitou's face tightened. "How do you know my name?" Motoko interrupted them. "Saitou, this is Ayame-chan. She's a very special girl. You met her when you were quite a bit younger. She had only turned two years old. Do you remember?" Saitou traced his thoughts back to when he supposedly met Ayame. "Yes I remember." Ayame was really confused. "I've met Saitou-san when I was two? That means...was I still in your village? Why was he there? Oooh this is mind boggling." Motoko laughed. "Yes you were still in the village, and Saitou was there visiting me and his grandfather." There was a brief silence. "You..you're his grandmother?! Well that explains a lot!" "Maybe so, but I still don't know why this has anything to do with you." They both turned to Saitou. "Saitou this is Shinta Ayame. She's a old friend of mine." They were interrupted when the rest of the Kenshin-gumi walked in. "There she is!" Everyone ran up to them. "Ayame! Where have you been? We've been looking for you!" Saitou's face went blank. He looked at all the women standing in front of him. Starting with Kaoru. "Raccoon.." Then Megumi. "Fox..." Next Misao. "Weasel." Finally Ayame. "Squirrel." Mrs. Hajime laughed again. "Ayame, you remember that dagger I gave you?" "Yah." "That was part of the reason for the design." They both laughed. "I get it now. Hahaha. That's a good one." (AN: That's an inside joke. No one else got it. I hope u did though.) Everyone else was darting their eyes back and forth trying to decipher the situation. Kaoru spoke first. "Saitou?! Ayame! What are you doing with this guy?!" "Saitou-san is apparently the grandson of my old neighbor." Soujiro came up front and looked at Saitou and the woman. Saitou gave him a look of disgust. "So Battousai has befriended the enemy. How like him to do something so stupid." Ayame was getting ticked off now from the numerous times of explaining the obvious. "Look you, lets get this straight. Soujiro is NOT the enemy. He's no one's enemy, and if I have to explain that one more time there's gonna be hell to pay, understand?!" Everyone sighed at her sudden outburst while Saitou put in a 'Whatever'. Soujiro was still eyeing the woman. "Ayame-chan...is this the woman that gave you those gifts?" Ayame and Mrs. Hajime smiled. "Yep. Somehow we managed to meet again." Saitou's mind went back on track. "Oh, obachan, I came to tell you I have to go to a meeting with a former colleague of mine." Like it was some sort of signal, the colleague of Saitou's walked in. "Gorou-san, what's taking so long?" He stopped when he saw Ayame. "Oh what a surprise! Gorou, you didn't tell me you knew Ayame-chan!" "And you never told me that you knew her either.", Saitou (aka-Gorou) replied. "Yes I did! This is the girl I was telling you about! The one who helps the police force!" He turned to Ayame. "How are you Ayame-chan?" Ayame smiled. "I'm fine, thank you. You never mentioned it was Fujita-san you were visiting. What a small world it is. Officer Jirun, you remember Soujiro-kun right?" The man glanced at Soujiro. "Yes, of course I do! Have you guys had fun here in Tokyo?" Soujiro nodded. Everyone else's heads were spinning. "This..is so...confusing!", Yahiko stated. Ayame turned to them. "Oh I'm sorry! This is Officer Jirun. He's the chief of police in Sokada. That's the town I live in. I often help him out catching thieves and such." "Ahhhh.", they all said in unison. Saitou cut in. "This is the girl? Very well. Come with us Ayame-chan. We have a matter of business to discuss." He turned to Kenshin. "You should come too Battousai." "Alright, but if we come so should everyone else. Is that acceptable?", Ayame requested. "Whatever. Just hurry up." With that, everyone followed him to the back of the store.
End Of Chapter
AN: Yes..on with the next chapter...hehehehe. I'm getting closer to the end so keep reviewing until then! And thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far! Apparently I'm a talented writer! Teehee! lol. Arigatou and Sayonara!