Disclaimer: I would say that I own Kenshin, but I fear a certain jealous tanuki girl far more than the lawyers. ...Not by much, because they are both equally frightening, but I fear her more.
Chapter Seven
Quite suddenly, something dawned on Himura. It was fresh. It was clean. It was bright. It was…
"OHAYO DE GOZARU!!!"
"RYU SHOU SEN!!!"
It was Wednesday.
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Himura quickly took an evaluation of his situation.
First off, he was in a corner of the laundry room (having gone there for another load for his daily chore), not a good place to be when you wanted to escape-which he did. Second, Asuka, the most daring girl at the brothel, was trapping him there. This might not have been so bad if it hadn't been for: Third, she looked like she was on the PMS-breaking point.
…At least that's what Himura would have guessed if Yuiishi Nanari had bothered to tell him what PMS was in his "education" yesterday. But since she hadn't, he could only say that she was "looking pissed de gozaru yo!"
And indeed she was.
At the end of his evaluation, Himura decided that his position could be described in three simple words.
I. Am. Dead.
"Do you have any idea what this is?" Asuka growled at him, angrily shaking the brilliant red cloth she held in her hands. Himura could've sworn her eyes were turning the same color. "Well answer me!! Do you?!"
Trying not to look as frightened as he actually was and failing miserably, he answered,
"Anou… A kimono de gozaru ka?"
"Not just any kimono," the young woman smiled in a sadistically sweet way. "This was my absolutely most favorite silk kimono in the entire world! Pure silk! It was made in China!! And do you know what this is?" She brought up a spot on the fabric that had been considerably frayed. Almost like someone had rubbed it against something too hard for too long…
Oh crapper.
"Well?!" Asuka shouted, her poison sweetness boiling over into a molten fury. "Answer me!!"
He had caused that fray, he knew it. He must've washed it too hard or something, but in any case, this wasn't going anywhere pleasant anytime soon. Whatever he said couldn't be to his favor. Himura honestly didn't know what to do, and when he came to points where he was at a total loss, his instincts fell back on his experience and training. No experience he had prepared him for this, so naturally…
"…oro?"
"I'll tell you what it is!" she yelled after his pitiful answer. "It's a ruined kimono, that's what!! A ruined silk kimono!! Don't you know you have to treat silk differently than other materials?! Well, don't you?!"
"…oro."
"What am I going to do now?! It'll take months for a replica or replacement to be found, bought, and then shipped!! What are you going to do about that, Himura?!"
"…Oro."
"I can hardly expect you to pay for it. You're so poor you can't even afford a tasteful gi!! Which, by the way, clashes just awfully with that gray hakama. But that's not the point! The point is how my kimono is going to be replaced! Well, Himura?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"Oro."
"'Oro?!'" she cried with a glare that could melt iron. "Is that all?! JUST 'ORO?!?!'"
"…Oro…" he confirmed.
"AURG!!! I can't believe Yuiishi-sama put a complete baka like you in charge of the laundry! It's all her fault!" Whirling around, she stormed out of the room but not without throwing a "Stupid rurouni!!" over her shoulder first.
Himura watched her go with an odd sense of amazement seeping through him.
It had… worked. He couldn't believe it had actually worked! Not only did it appear to detract her anger somewhat, but he'd gotten off the blame too! Incredible!
"So Himura-dono," Nuhiro said, suddenly appearing in the doorway a moment later. Obviously he had been eavesdropping. "What do you think of 'The Oro' now?"
In truth and lingering awe, the Ishin Shishi answered.
"…I think I just found my new favorite word de gozaru."
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It had finally happened.
Himura didn't know exactly how to feel about the event. In a way he was greatly relieved and feeling quite fulfilled. And yet, now he was at a loss of options. He wasn't quite sure where to go now or what to do next. There was suddenly so much… freedom. He didn't know what to do with it.
No one had prepared him for this moment, and it came upon him quite suddenly. Had anyone bothered telling him what his next choices were after this point, he might've had a clue, but no one had. He didn't know where Obaga was, so he couldn't ask him; the same thing with Yuiishi-dono. And he didn't dare ask any of the young women here what he could do for them in his spare time. Still, he was probably free to do whatever he pleased for a while. After all…
The laundry was done.
Nuhiro hadn't given him anything more to do other than the laundry. It had been such a massive undertaking that the elder must've figured it was all he had to do in order to compensate his share of room and board. Himura was inclined to agree at the moment. It was strangely very satisfying to clean the stains out of something as absorbing as cloth; it even slightly appealed to his subconscious metaphorical side. However, that's not to say that it didn't leave him feeling just a little bit worn and weary. Deciding to just sit and relax for a bit, Himura took a spot on the back porch steps to admire his surroundings.
It was a beautiful June mid-afternoon. For summer weather, it wasn't as hot as he'd thought it should be for a considerably sunny day. There was still a cool temperature being carried on the wind that kept the atmosphere quite balanced and tranquil. Nuhiro had done an excellent job at keeping the ground well kept, and the brothel's humble garden was looking exceptionally fine in its simplicity. Everything about the scene appeared to have order, schedule, and rhythm. Anyone could have safely said that getting conked on the noggin with a toy ball was the last thing you would expect to happen to you in such a setting.
This is why Himura was caught off guard when just that happened.
"Oro?" he said after the afore mentioned ball had bounced off of his red-headed skull and rolled a few feet away from him, hardly aware that he had so casually let the word escape him.
For a minute or two, Himura and the ball regarded each other. Then after finding nothing particularly threatening about each other, went about their business. Himura's business just now happened to be discovering who had thrown it.
A creaking sound from across the yard caught the former hitokiri's attention, and he stood to his feet in readiness despite not having his sakabatou on hand. (You didn't need a reverse-blade sword to clean sheets, after all.) A moment of scanning the region soon drew his attention to the back gate. It was opening!
Himura wasn't sure what to feel or expect. Half of him relaxed slightly since that closed-off portion of the gardens was often visited by Yuiishi-dono and Asuka-dono; at least it was every mealtime. At first Himura had thought it only to be yesterday and at lunch, but later for supper he'd seen them head that way again. To be sure, he'd paid special watch to them at breakfast this morning and sure enough, they exited that way then. But the other half of Himura wasn't sure he should be so casual. While he'd always seen the head mistress and her head girl go in and out, he'd never seen anyone else do the same. And Yuiishi-dono and Asuka-dono had already left from their lunch hour visit a while ago…
Deciding it was best to be on defense, he kept his appearance cool while tensely awaiting whomever stepped out from behind the gate. It wasn't too long before they appeared.
Himura blinked, watching as the figure timidly poked its face out of the crack of the open door. It looked both ways before deciding it was safe enough to step through. Himura could see them more plainly now; or perhaps he should say, he could see him more plainly now.
It was a boy. Probably no older than the age of 8 judging by his height and amount of baby fat still rounding his face. He was sneaking through the shrouding bamboo in what he probably thought was a "sneaky" manner, dodging in and out of the shrubs as he made his way closer to the open yard.
Kenshin just stood there, wondering what the boy was trying to do. If he was attempting to keep hidden, he was doing a fair job by staying the shadows. If he was trying to be quiet, well, he was doing pretty well at that too. But if he was trying to look for any signs of someone catching him… Somebody get the kid some glasses! Himura was just standing there not five feet away from the ball (which he assumed the boy was there to get), out in the open, bright red hair blowing, blaring gi… well, blaring, and staring quite obviously at the child. However, the young one never took notice of him.
…Until he was in mid-action of reaching out for the ball and Himura decided to say hello. Himura didn't mean to scare the kid, but upon hearing his salutation the boy froze completely. Then he slowly looked up with an expression that had Himura thinking the child would need a new set of underwear.
"Uh… is that your ball de gozaru ka?" he asked with a smile.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
"Gaaaaaahhh!" the redhead responded in similar surprise as he watched the boy suddenly turn and dash back to the gate, spluttering 'sorry' and 'please don't tell' until slamming the gate closed.
"……I guess I really do need to work on my smile," he muttered after a moment of very confused silence. Then glancing down, he saw that the kid had still forgotten to grab the toy.
Curiosity got the better of him and he reached down to pick it up before carefully moving towards the entry way to the closed-off section of the gardens. Even as he did so he was telling himself how this probably wasn't the smartest thing to do at this point in time.
…But then again, he was training to be an idiot. The smartest thing would probably hinder his mind-state.
Then again, he thought as he entered. One would need a mind for that in the first place, wouldn't they…
-----------Himura had the distinct impression that he was being watched.
Having entered through the gate, he found that the bamboo trees extended on the other side as well, a single and straight, narrow path leading up to a clearing. Looking ahead, he could see that there was a small hut within that clearing. However, looking ahead did not seem to be in his best interests right now.
His hitokiri instincts were telling him that someone or something was taking down his every movement as he slowly walked down that path. The fact that it was an embodiment that he could not see himself is what kept him on a slight edge. He really didn't feel he should be too nervous; after all, if a little boy ran in here to seek safety, what could be the real harm? If there any real danger existed, well, it would be a good time to put his new "bumbling rurouni" act to the test, wouldn't it?
It was this thought he had in mind as he took the step forward that would bring him into the clearing. It was this thought he had in mind when the tripwire went taunt and caught his foot. And it was this thought in mind that made him remember that instead of swiftly recovering his balance like the cool, smooth hitokiri he was could, he allowed himself to go crashing into the ground face-first.
"Get 'im!!" a youthful voice cried, followed by many other youthful shouts.
"Huh?!" the redhead squeaked before looking up to find a small band of about 5 or 6 children rush towards him. On an after note, he 'oro-ed.'
Himura could remember being thrown to the ground countless times before. He'd been tackled, tromped, kicked, and slammed many times during his training (especially during his training) and in the war. However, this was definitely his first experience at being "dog piled."
Unsure of how to fend off a mob of kids, Himura found himself yelping helplessly as they used their advantage of numbers and his hesitance to bound and gag him.
The legendary Hitokiri Battousai taken out by a daycare nightmare, he inwardly groaned. Is an honorable death too much to ask for de gozaru ka?!
In the end, they all seemed satisfied with their work and went about making sure he stayed on the ground. Meanwhile, Himura could hardly believe this was happening to him! He remembered Obaga telling he held back too much, but what the heck was he supposed to do?! There was no freakin' way he could hit a kid! Heck, he still remembered that it was for the sake of their future that he killed in the first place!
Yeesh! You risk your life and put your very humanity on the line for the next generation and how do they repay you?! By hog-tying you up and planting your face in the dirt. Honestly, children had no respect these days!
A katana drew Himura's attention. Not because it was well crafted, mind you; it was in actuality, rusted, chipped, and had obviously seen better days. However, when it landed within a few inches of his nose, it just happened to grab his notice.
Letting his gaze trail up the blade, he found the sword in the hands of a boy different from the first. This one looked older, perhaps 10, and didn't look to be frightened of him at all (then again, he hadn't smiled yet so who knew?). Although it was probably hard to be scared of someone who was at your mercy.
"Who are you?" the boy, who was obviously the eldest of them (now that Himura had looked around), demanded. "What are you doing here? What do you want?!"
The young man gladly answered each question. Unfortunately, no one could understand what "Mmmpff," meant, and frankly, it didn't look like anyone cared.
"Unauthorized men aren't allowed back here!" the 10-year old informed him, before pleasantly adding, "All strangers will be punished! Prepare him for the torture!"
"Yay!!" the band of young ones cheered in a sadistically overjoyed way. "Torture! Torture! Torture!"
Himura had the distinct impression that he was doomed.
End of chapter seven.
Author's Notes:
Sugoi, thanks for the support minna! I'm glad I'm not thought to be a total loss yet. (That's not speaking for mentality though).
Well, I admit that I'm not really a regular updater, but this fic has just been on fire for some reason. It's practically writing itself! It just disappointed me I suppose when I finally got to the point where I wasn't barreling it out. *shrugs* Well, this chapter came out easy enough. I hope I didn't leave you off a large cliffhanger. ^^; I wasn't expecting that, but I figured that in order to introduce the next scene the way I want to, I'd like to start it on another chapter. Gomen!
Fun Fact: Most of these chapters were originally planned to be a complied collection of one-shots of Himura Kenshin on his "Wandering Years" and how he gradually over time learned the things he did and how he became a rurouni. However, as I continued writing this story, I realized that I could fit those one-shots into this one plotline! I'm happy it worked out that way too, because now I can make those stories more humorous.
Well, "Real Life" still takes its toll, but like I said, this chapter just came right out. And being excited to have another chapter done, I've posted it ASAP. =P The next one shouldn't be until next week though.
SUGOI! Over 100 reviews! I never imagined my first fic on fanfiction.net would get so much attention! THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU!!! *sniffles and wipes tear* You like me! You really like me!! ^__^