Between the Devil and the Deep
A Rurouni Kenshin Alternate Universe Fic
by Gemini
Rated PG-13 for swearing and some violence
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, Shonen Jump and others.
Chapter 3: Little Miracles
Duty. As far as Misao Makimachi was concerned, duty was the dirtiest four-letter word in her vocabulary.
Duty is what got her into her current unhappy situation. Duty to her family, duty to the female sex. She owed it to them, her father said, owed it to them to go through this joke of a marriage with that brutish octogenarian. She snorted and tossed her brush carelessly onto the small dressing table. Owed it to them for what? Eighteen years of constantly being told what to do, what to say, what to think? She stuck her tongue out at her reflection, glad her maid wasn't around to admonish her for not being lady-like.
"Miss Misao? Captain and Lady Saitou request the honor of your presence at their table." Her maid tapped lightly on the door.
Misao frowned at the door. Speak of the devil. "Fine. Tell the captain that I will join them in a few minutes." She replied testily.
"Do you need help with your dress?" The persistent maid asked.
"No. Just deliver the message, please." Misao hated the old woman, whom she knew had been hired by her parents to spy on her and keep her in line. It was her maid who had told her parents that her "calligraphy" lessons were, in reality, martial arts lessons, putting an immediate end to them. It was also her maid who told her parents about her clandestine trips to town and the waterfront, which had spurred her father into action, securing this marriage before she could ruin herself, and their hopes for a secure financial future.
Misao wished that she had ruined herself. Then her parents would have disowned her and she would have been free. Maybe she would have died in the gutter, like her father had warned, but at least she would have been free. As she finished lacing up her bodice, her mind wandered and she found herself thinking about Aoshi Shinomori, her friend Kaoru's tall, elegant and hopelessly sexy navigator. She thought about Aoshi a lot these days, and those thoughts were usually accompanied by the wish that she had ruined herself with him. Blushing furiously, she tied off her bodice with a sloppy knot. Never mind that now. She had to get through dinner what the insufferable asshole Hajime Saitou and she'd rather not give him any ammo to use against her. The spider haired freak seemed to think it was amusing to torture her during meal times. His wife tried to keep him in line, but he was always able to throw out a few insults before she put the iron clamp down on him.
Thoughts of Aoshi brought her mind back to her current situation, to the letter she had sent her friend Kaoru, a letter that begged Kaoru to cut short her seasonal vacation and come to her rescue.
As she checked herself in the mirror, making sure that she hadn't laced her long hair in her bodice again, she said a quick prayer that Kaoru had gotten the letter in time. She would wait until the Miburo docked. If Kaoru hadn't shown up by then to save her…she glanced back at her travel valise. Concealed in the lining, where not even her nosy maid knew where to look, was a wickedly sharp ceremonial dagger that her sensei had given her right before her father had put a stop to her lessons. If Kaoru didn't show up in time…if she didn't…Misao closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself. It would
be better to die free, of her own will, than to waste away in a gilded cage, the third wife of a man old enough to be her grandfather with a reputation as a wife-beater and sadist. Misao was a lot of things, but she was no longer a coward. She had prepared herself for this possibility even as her mother was preparing her wedding trousseau.
Aoshi was waiting for Karou when she returned to her cabin after her short talk with Kenshin. He had spread two charts out on her desk and had already begun working through a series of calculations when she plopped down in her chair.
"All right, Aoshi, how does it look? Can we catch the Miburo?" She studied the lines and crosses he had made on the map with a pencil.
Aoshi frowned and finished the calculation. "Just barely, provided we have favorable wind conditions for the next few days. They had a two day head start and we lost time when we stopped to pick up those survivors." He made a notation on the map and sketched in a new set of lines with the aid of a ruler. "If we continue at this present rate of speed, we should catch up with the Miburo in a few days."
Kaoru tapped the map thoughtfully with her index finger. "Have you discussed the plan with Sano?"
Aoshi nodded. "He was concerned because it is fairly obvious that we are not a packet ship. I agree with him. It would be rather difficult to hide two masts."
Kaoru smiled and waved her hand. "Ah, but Aoshi, this time of year, the Navy rarely sends out packet ships. They're too small and don't do well with the sudden winter storms that spring up. It would not be unheard of for the Navy to send out a brigantine such as the Kami Kaze to deliver urgent missives. Of course, they wouldn't send out the Kami Kaze per se, but that's there are so many different flags for us to choose our identity from." She grinned and stretched lazily. "Our only worry is Saitou. If he gets suspicious, then we're in trouble. Of all the damn sea captains for her father to decide to use, it had to be that old bastard."
"Kaoru, why are you so worried about Misao? An arranged marriage is not pleasant, but it's not really a matter of life or death. We're putting ourselves in considerable danger, and I want to know why you had us pull up anchor and chase after her." Aoshi asked, quietly.
Kaoru frowned and rested her elbows on the table, drumming her fingers restlessly on the chart in front of her. "So the fact that she is my friend and is being forced against her will to submit to an unpleasant marriage is not reason enough?" Kaoru rubbed her chin and pretended to think for a moment. "All right, perhaps I feel empathy for her plight. I am a woman, too, after all, and I know some of what it is like to be forced to submit to a man's will."
Aoshi shook his head. "There is still something else, Kaoru. This plan doesn't make sense to me. Why don't we just let her get off Saitou's ship, and then take her away from her intended husband's home later on or waylay her carriage before it even arrives there? Why risk antagonizing Hajime Saitou? And furthermore, why do it when we have his colleague, Kenshin Himura on board?"
"She won't wait until later." Kaoru sighed, leaning back in her chair and massaging her temples as though she had a headache.
Aoshi sat up straighter and pierced his captain with a fierce look. "What are you talking about? What do you know that you won't tell me?"
She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "Misao is quite determined not to marry this man and she is prepared to resort to drastic measures to prevent it."
Aoshi ran his hand through his thick black hair in frustration. "That stupid little girl." He muttered. "She could just run
away, didn't she know that?"
Kaoru smiled sadly. "I'm afraid, Aoshi, that for our sex, running away isn't always an option. It's a dangerous world out there, especially for a woman traveling alone."
Aoshi stubbornly refused to give. "She can handle herself, remember how we met her?"
A giggle escaped his captain. "Indeed. I have never seen anyone as shocked as those two men who thought they had found an easy target. Didn't she break the big one's leg?"
Aoshi shrugged. "I don't know. We didn't stay there long enough to find out."
Kaoru nodded. "Well, I do know that I put a crimp in the weasely looking one's sex life. I wonder if that tavern owner ever stopped trying to have us arrested? The drawings of me on those wanted posters were terribly unflattering."
Aoshi began rolling up the charts, a frown set on his face, ignoring her musings about her unfortunate portrait. "Perhaps I could find a faster way to head off the Miburo, a short cut of some kind. The current course I have plotted was the most prudent one, but there must be a way to shave some time off my estimate." He said slowly, as he wrapped a worn ribbon around the charts.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "Don't want to take any chances with Misao's safety, hmmm?" She asked, slyly.
A slight blush blossomed on Aoshi's cheeks, but he did not answer. Kaoru decided not to torture her navigator any more than was absolutely necessary and gave him a half wave. "Do what you think is best, Aoshi. Just make sure my ship gets there in one piece and on time."
He nodded and made a beeline for the door, obviously eager to get away from her. She smiled and made a mental note to tease him later.
Despite Megumi's protests, Kenshin was up and anxious to be moving about the next morning. He had never been one to lie around idly, especially while on a ship.
Salt air and the smell of the ocean always invigorated him. Rather than eating breakfast, he found himself standing topside, watching the ship cleave through the blue water. There were a few sailors on deck that morning. The one called Kamatari was at the helm again, steering idly with one finger while staring into space, a small smile on his lips.
Kenshin couldn't tell who was in the crow's nest, but the sailor named Chou was dumping dirty water over the side and another sailor whom he didn't know was industriously scrubbing the deck with a brush and a bucket of sudsy water.
It was a tranquil, calm morning and Kenshin felt at peace. His attention was called off the sea, however, when something infinitely more interesting came into his peripheral vision. Kaoru.
Today she was wearing a dress. From beneath a long, snug fitting black coat, Kenshin caught glimpses of fluttering blue cloth that matched the color of her eyes. She paced the deck, stopping to talk to Kamatari, then Chou and the other sailor, whom she called Hannya. She waved to the person up in the crow's nest and then made her way to Kenshin.
"Megumi was quite upset with you." She said with mock sternness.
Kenshin smiled and turned back to watch the ocean. "I'm sure Dr. Takani will forgive me for my impertinence."
Kaoru shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. She's very good at holding grudges."
Kenshin chuckled and the two stood in companionable silence for a long while before he spoke again.
"Captain Kamiya, if you don't mind me asking…what exactly happened to your father? There were rumors, of course, but nothing was ever told the same way twice."
Kaoru sighed and looked out at the water, callused fingers fiddling with a loose threat in her coat. "My father always believed in giving people a second chance, Captain Himura, and that is what got him killed."
Kenshin frowned and looked at the young woman, who suddenly looked so vulnerable. "I'm sorry."
She nodded, accepting his sympathy with a small, sad smile. "Most of the men on this ship were recruited by my father, I've brought a few on since he's been gone…but the majority of these sailors, he found. He had a habit of rescuing people, of giving them the opportunity to better themselves. One of the men he helped was named Jineh Udo." She took a deep breath, her hands finding and then tightening on the railing until her knuckles were white. "Jineh pledged loyalty to my father and worked hard to earn his esteem. But we know now that he was only biding his time. After a while, he had gathered a small but loyal group of men and, one night, in the middle of the ocean, he attempted a mutiny."
She looked unsettled, upset and Kenshin found himself wanting to comfort her, to tell her that she didn't have to continue, but he knew that she would be offended. Even though he had only known her a day or two, he could sense that Karou Kamiya was a proud woman and would resent his treating her as anything less than an equal. Instead of holding her or taking her hand, or a dozen other things a man could do to comfort a woman, he merely nodded and waited for her to continue.
She cleared her throat. "Jineh snuck into my father's cabin and murdered him while he slept because he was too much of a coward to fight him like a man. He then gathered up all the men and told them that his will was law and whoever didn't want to work for him could follow my father's body into the sea."
She smiled bitterly. "Some of the men immediately went over to his side, and he had rounded up the others to kill them when I challenged his authority. I was, after all, the captain's daughter and I felt that my father's betrayal had to be avenged. So, I offered to fight him for control of the ship."
Kenshin stared at her, wondering at her bravery. She could not have been more than a teenager when this had happened, and yet, yet… she had stood in front of her father's killer and challenged him. "Did he refuse?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru laughed. "Of course not. He was not afraid of a mere girl. He figured that killing me would be the final insult to my father and would clear the way for him to completely take over the ship."
"So what happened?"
Kaoru smiled viciously. "I killed him." She glanced at Kenshin and paused to brush some wind-tossed hair from her face before continuing. "No man has ever underestimated me and lived, Captain Himura. Jineh Udo found that out after I stuck my father's sword through his chest." She turned and leaned her back against the railing and he followed her example, unable to tear his eyes away from the shifting emotions on her face.
"Of course, the sailors who had gone over to Jineh's side tried to come back, but their cowardice and disloyalty were unforgivable, so they followed that traitorous bastard into the sea. I've been captain of this ship ever since. That was…three years ago now, I believe."
"You are amazing." Kenshin said quietly.
She shook her head. "Not really. I'm just lucky."
Kenshin opened his mouth to say more, but Sano appeared from the stairs and waved at Kaoru excitedly.
She arched a quizzical eyebrow and walked over to him, Kenshin trailing behind her, curious.
"What is it, Sano?" She asked the excited sailor.
"It's a fuckin' miracle, is what it is!" He exclaimed.
Now both of Kaoru's eyebrows were raised. "What are you talking about?" She asked curiously.
"Come down to the mess room, Kaoru…you won't believe it." He grabbed her hand and tugged her down the stairs, ignoring Kenshin entirely. Despite that, he followed them down to the mess hall, his curiosity aroused.
It appeared as though the entire ship, except for the men on the deck, was gathered in the mess quarters. The room was filled with their excited chatter, but that stilled when Sano dragged Kaoru in, Kenshin trailing behind them.
"Sit down!" Sano said, waving them both to an empty bench before disappearing into the galley. Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged glances with each other and then sat, still confused. Kaoru looked around the mess hall at her crew and realized something was different. In front of every man was a plate and they were eating…some with glee.
Sano emerged from the galley with a plate of hot food and plopped it down in front of his captain. Kaoru glared at him and jerked her head in Kenshin's direction and reluctantly, her second in command went back into the kitchen and emerged with a second plate, tossing it unceremoniously down in front of him. Kenshin swallowed a rude remark, not wanting to get on Kaoru's bad side, but he made a mental note to try and figure out later why Sano seemed to dislike him so much. Following Kaoru's lead, he picked up the fork that had been stuck into the food and took a bite.
"What's wrong with this? It tastes perfectly fine to me." Kenshin said, taking another bite.
Beside him, Kaoru's eyes went wide as she slowly chewed and swallowed her own food.
Sano clapped his hands. "That's just it, it tastes FINE!"
Kenshin threw a confused glance at Kaoru, wondering if her first mate had somehow gone mad.
Kaoru set down her fork and hastened to explain. "You see, Captain, our cook is…well…he's not actually much of a cook." Behind her, Sano snorted derisively and she shot him a dirty look before continuing. "We're not used to such good food aboard this ship." She finished.
"I see." Kenshin said carefully. He wondered why she kept on such an inept cook, but he decided that this was not the time, nor the place for such questions.
"Sano, what exactly happened?" Kaoru asked.
"It was the kid…the kid cooked." Her spiky-headed first mate replied. "Apparently, ol' one leg had too much sake and passed out, so the kid made breakfast this morning."
"Yahiko made this?" Kenshin asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, didn't you know your kid could cook?" Sano asked rudely.
Kenshin frowned and shook his head. "He's not my son. His mother died and left him in my care. We had just been getting to know each other when the storm hit our ship. I didn't know he could cook. I don't know a lot of things about him, actually."
"Was that your reason for being out this time of year?" Kaoru asked.
Kenshin nodded, but he caught a glimpse of Yahiko peeking into the mess hall and decided to go talk to him. "Excuse me for a moment." He said, rising quickly.
Yahiko was hanging a clean, dry pot onto its requisite peg when Kenshin entered the galley.
"You did an excellent job with breakfast." Kenshin offered.
The boy nodded and blushed. Their conversations were still awkward, neither knew exactly what to do.
"Did your mother teach you how to cook?" Kenshin asked gently, kneeling in front of his young charge. Again the boy nodded and scuffed his feet, his eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of him.
His guardian smiled. "Your mother was always an excellent cook. No one ever taught her, she just knew how. She always seemed to know the exact amount of spice something needed, or how long to leave it in the oven."
Yahiko looked up at the older man and smiled tentatively. "I used to help her sometimes." He said quietly. "With church dinners…or for papa's birthday."
"I bet you were a great help." Kenshin paused for a moment as he thought of something. "Maybe, when we get home, you could teach me. Would you?"
Yahiko turned bright red and his smile grew wider. "You'd really like me to?" He squeaked.
Kenshin nodded. "I'd like nothing better."
It was a small step, but a step forward, nonetheless.
Glossary:
Packet ship: Small, fast ship for sending dispatches and orders.
Brigantine: Two-masted ship
Flags-Ships used flags to identify themselves
Oooh, things were getting too sad again, so I threw in the last bit with Sano and the amazing edible breakfast. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to further Kenshin and Yahiko's relationship.
Kaoru is ONCE AGAIN a bad ass in this chapter. I suppose that I've gotten a bit tired of her always being the damsel in distress. None of that "Oh, Kenshin, save me from the villain of the week" crap here. If I get myself too riled up, then she'll be saving a swooning Kenshin. But I doubt I'll get that mad.
And now we see Misao! She's also not your typical damsel. I've based her character in part from the character of Rosamond in Louisa May Alcott's "Long, Fatal Love Chase". But only IN PART. I used to get such a big kick out of those horribly romantic novels with swooning maidens and tragic deaths, etc. Misao has read too many of those, brooded too long over poetry by Shelley and Byron, I suppose. Silly girl, causing all this trouble. But then again, only Anna Nicole Smith WANTS to marry old, rich men. Misao wants none of it.
Is there something going on between her and Aoshi? (If Moonspark has her way, there will be)
Will Saitou foil Kaoru's plans?
Will Hiko recover from his monster hangover? Find out next time…
A Rurouni Kenshin Alternate Universe Fic
by Gemini
Rated PG-13 for swearing and some violence
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Sony, Shonen Jump and others.
Chapter 3: Little Miracles
Duty. As far as Misao Makimachi was concerned, duty was the dirtiest four-letter word in her vocabulary.
Duty is what got her into her current unhappy situation. Duty to her family, duty to the female sex. She owed it to them, her father said, owed it to them to go through this joke of a marriage with that brutish octogenarian. She snorted and tossed her brush carelessly onto the small dressing table. Owed it to them for what? Eighteen years of constantly being told what to do, what to say, what to think? She stuck her tongue out at her reflection, glad her maid wasn't around to admonish her for not being lady-like.
"Miss Misao? Captain and Lady Saitou request the honor of your presence at their table." Her maid tapped lightly on the door.
Misao frowned at the door. Speak of the devil. "Fine. Tell the captain that I will join them in a few minutes." She replied testily.
"Do you need help with your dress?" The persistent maid asked.
"No. Just deliver the message, please." Misao hated the old woman, whom she knew had been hired by her parents to spy on her and keep her in line. It was her maid who had told her parents that her "calligraphy" lessons were, in reality, martial arts lessons, putting an immediate end to them. It was also her maid who told her parents about her clandestine trips to town and the waterfront, which had spurred her father into action, securing this marriage before she could ruin herself, and their hopes for a secure financial future.
Misao wished that she had ruined herself. Then her parents would have disowned her and she would have been free. Maybe she would have died in the gutter, like her father had warned, but at least she would have been free. As she finished lacing up her bodice, her mind wandered and she found herself thinking about Aoshi Shinomori, her friend Kaoru's tall, elegant and hopelessly sexy navigator. She thought about Aoshi a lot these days, and those thoughts were usually accompanied by the wish that she had ruined herself with him. Blushing furiously, she tied off her bodice with a sloppy knot. Never mind that now. She had to get through dinner what the insufferable asshole Hajime Saitou and she'd rather not give him any ammo to use against her. The spider haired freak seemed to think it was amusing to torture her during meal times. His wife tried to keep him in line, but he was always able to throw out a few insults before she put the iron clamp down on him.
Thoughts of Aoshi brought her mind back to her current situation, to the letter she had sent her friend Kaoru, a letter that begged Kaoru to cut short her seasonal vacation and come to her rescue.
As she checked herself in the mirror, making sure that she hadn't laced her long hair in her bodice again, she said a quick prayer that Kaoru had gotten the letter in time. She would wait until the Miburo docked. If Kaoru hadn't shown up by then to save her…she glanced back at her travel valise. Concealed in the lining, where not even her nosy maid knew where to look, was a wickedly sharp ceremonial dagger that her sensei had given her right before her father had put a stop to her lessons. If Kaoru didn't show up in time…if she didn't…Misao closed her eyes and took a deep breath, steeling herself. It would
be better to die free, of her own will, than to waste away in a gilded cage, the third wife of a man old enough to be her grandfather with a reputation as a wife-beater and sadist. Misao was a lot of things, but she was no longer a coward. She had prepared herself for this possibility even as her mother was preparing her wedding trousseau.
Aoshi was waiting for Karou when she returned to her cabin after her short talk with Kenshin. He had spread two charts out on her desk and had already begun working through a series of calculations when she plopped down in her chair.
"All right, Aoshi, how does it look? Can we catch the Miburo?" She studied the lines and crosses he had made on the map with a pencil.
Aoshi frowned and finished the calculation. "Just barely, provided we have favorable wind conditions for the next few days. They had a two day head start and we lost time when we stopped to pick up those survivors." He made a notation on the map and sketched in a new set of lines with the aid of a ruler. "If we continue at this present rate of speed, we should catch up with the Miburo in a few days."
Kaoru tapped the map thoughtfully with her index finger. "Have you discussed the plan with Sano?"
Aoshi nodded. "He was concerned because it is fairly obvious that we are not a packet ship. I agree with him. It would be rather difficult to hide two masts."
Kaoru smiled and waved her hand. "Ah, but Aoshi, this time of year, the Navy rarely sends out packet ships. They're too small and don't do well with the sudden winter storms that spring up. It would not be unheard of for the Navy to send out a brigantine such as the Kami Kaze to deliver urgent missives. Of course, they wouldn't send out the Kami Kaze per se, but that's there are so many different flags for us to choose our identity from." She grinned and stretched lazily. "Our only worry is Saitou. If he gets suspicious, then we're in trouble. Of all the damn sea captains for her father to decide to use, it had to be that old bastard."
"Kaoru, why are you so worried about Misao? An arranged marriage is not pleasant, but it's not really a matter of life or death. We're putting ourselves in considerable danger, and I want to know why you had us pull up anchor and chase after her." Aoshi asked, quietly.
Kaoru frowned and rested her elbows on the table, drumming her fingers restlessly on the chart in front of her. "So the fact that she is my friend and is being forced against her will to submit to an unpleasant marriage is not reason enough?" Kaoru rubbed her chin and pretended to think for a moment. "All right, perhaps I feel empathy for her plight. I am a woman, too, after all, and I know some of what it is like to be forced to submit to a man's will."
Aoshi shook his head. "There is still something else, Kaoru. This plan doesn't make sense to me. Why don't we just let her get off Saitou's ship, and then take her away from her intended husband's home later on or waylay her carriage before it even arrives there? Why risk antagonizing Hajime Saitou? And furthermore, why do it when we have his colleague, Kenshin Himura on board?"
"She won't wait until later." Kaoru sighed, leaning back in her chair and massaging her temples as though she had a headache.
Aoshi sat up straighter and pierced his captain with a fierce look. "What are you talking about? What do you know that you won't tell me?"
She regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "Misao is quite determined not to marry this man and she is prepared to resort to drastic measures to prevent it."
Aoshi ran his hand through his thick black hair in frustration. "That stupid little girl." He muttered. "She could just run
away, didn't she know that?"
Kaoru smiled sadly. "I'm afraid, Aoshi, that for our sex, running away isn't always an option. It's a dangerous world out there, especially for a woman traveling alone."
Aoshi stubbornly refused to give. "She can handle herself, remember how we met her?"
A giggle escaped his captain. "Indeed. I have never seen anyone as shocked as those two men who thought they had found an easy target. Didn't she break the big one's leg?"
Aoshi shrugged. "I don't know. We didn't stay there long enough to find out."
Kaoru nodded. "Well, I do know that I put a crimp in the weasely looking one's sex life. I wonder if that tavern owner ever stopped trying to have us arrested? The drawings of me on those wanted posters were terribly unflattering."
Aoshi began rolling up the charts, a frown set on his face, ignoring her musings about her unfortunate portrait. "Perhaps I could find a faster way to head off the Miburo, a short cut of some kind. The current course I have plotted was the most prudent one, but there must be a way to shave some time off my estimate." He said slowly, as he wrapped a worn ribbon around the charts.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "Don't want to take any chances with Misao's safety, hmmm?" She asked, slyly.
A slight blush blossomed on Aoshi's cheeks, but he did not answer. Kaoru decided not to torture her navigator any more than was absolutely necessary and gave him a half wave. "Do what you think is best, Aoshi. Just make sure my ship gets there in one piece and on time."
He nodded and made a beeline for the door, obviously eager to get away from her. She smiled and made a mental note to tease him later.
Despite Megumi's protests, Kenshin was up and anxious to be moving about the next morning. He had never been one to lie around idly, especially while on a ship.
Salt air and the smell of the ocean always invigorated him. Rather than eating breakfast, he found himself standing topside, watching the ship cleave through the blue water. There were a few sailors on deck that morning. The one called Kamatari was at the helm again, steering idly with one finger while staring into space, a small smile on his lips.
Kenshin couldn't tell who was in the crow's nest, but the sailor named Chou was dumping dirty water over the side and another sailor whom he didn't know was industriously scrubbing the deck with a brush and a bucket of sudsy water.
It was a tranquil, calm morning and Kenshin felt at peace. His attention was called off the sea, however, when something infinitely more interesting came into his peripheral vision. Kaoru.
Today she was wearing a dress. From beneath a long, snug fitting black coat, Kenshin caught glimpses of fluttering blue cloth that matched the color of her eyes. She paced the deck, stopping to talk to Kamatari, then Chou and the other sailor, whom she called Hannya. She waved to the person up in the crow's nest and then made her way to Kenshin.
"Megumi was quite upset with you." She said with mock sternness.
Kenshin smiled and turned back to watch the ocean. "I'm sure Dr. Takani will forgive me for my impertinence."
Kaoru shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. She's very good at holding grudges."
Kenshin chuckled and the two stood in companionable silence for a long while before he spoke again.
"Captain Kamiya, if you don't mind me asking…what exactly happened to your father? There were rumors, of course, but nothing was ever told the same way twice."
Kaoru sighed and looked out at the water, callused fingers fiddling with a loose threat in her coat. "My father always believed in giving people a second chance, Captain Himura, and that is what got him killed."
Kenshin frowned and looked at the young woman, who suddenly looked so vulnerable. "I'm sorry."
She nodded, accepting his sympathy with a small, sad smile. "Most of the men on this ship were recruited by my father, I've brought a few on since he's been gone…but the majority of these sailors, he found. He had a habit of rescuing people, of giving them the opportunity to better themselves. One of the men he helped was named Jineh Udo." She took a deep breath, her hands finding and then tightening on the railing until her knuckles were white. "Jineh pledged loyalty to my father and worked hard to earn his esteem. But we know now that he was only biding his time. After a while, he had gathered a small but loyal group of men and, one night, in the middle of the ocean, he attempted a mutiny."
She looked unsettled, upset and Kenshin found himself wanting to comfort her, to tell her that she didn't have to continue, but he knew that she would be offended. Even though he had only known her a day or two, he could sense that Karou Kamiya was a proud woman and would resent his treating her as anything less than an equal. Instead of holding her or taking her hand, or a dozen other things a man could do to comfort a woman, he merely nodded and waited for her to continue.
She cleared her throat. "Jineh snuck into my father's cabin and murdered him while he slept because he was too much of a coward to fight him like a man. He then gathered up all the men and told them that his will was law and whoever didn't want to work for him could follow my father's body into the sea."
She smiled bitterly. "Some of the men immediately went over to his side, and he had rounded up the others to kill them when I challenged his authority. I was, after all, the captain's daughter and I felt that my father's betrayal had to be avenged. So, I offered to fight him for control of the ship."
Kenshin stared at her, wondering at her bravery. She could not have been more than a teenager when this had happened, and yet, yet… she had stood in front of her father's killer and challenged him. "Did he refuse?" Kenshin asked.
Kaoru laughed. "Of course not. He was not afraid of a mere girl. He figured that killing me would be the final insult to my father and would clear the way for him to completely take over the ship."
"So what happened?"
Kaoru smiled viciously. "I killed him." She glanced at Kenshin and paused to brush some wind-tossed hair from her face before continuing. "No man has ever underestimated me and lived, Captain Himura. Jineh Udo found that out after I stuck my father's sword through his chest." She turned and leaned her back against the railing and he followed her example, unable to tear his eyes away from the shifting emotions on her face.
"Of course, the sailors who had gone over to Jineh's side tried to come back, but their cowardice and disloyalty were unforgivable, so they followed that traitorous bastard into the sea. I've been captain of this ship ever since. That was…three years ago now, I believe."
"You are amazing." Kenshin said quietly.
She shook her head. "Not really. I'm just lucky."
Kenshin opened his mouth to say more, but Sano appeared from the stairs and waved at Kaoru excitedly.
She arched a quizzical eyebrow and walked over to him, Kenshin trailing behind her, curious.
"What is it, Sano?" She asked the excited sailor.
"It's a fuckin' miracle, is what it is!" He exclaimed.
Now both of Kaoru's eyebrows were raised. "What are you talking about?" She asked curiously.
"Come down to the mess room, Kaoru…you won't believe it." He grabbed her hand and tugged her down the stairs, ignoring Kenshin entirely. Despite that, he followed them down to the mess hall, his curiosity aroused.
It appeared as though the entire ship, except for the men on the deck, was gathered in the mess quarters. The room was filled with their excited chatter, but that stilled when Sano dragged Kaoru in, Kenshin trailing behind them.
"Sit down!" Sano said, waving them both to an empty bench before disappearing into the galley. Kenshin and Kaoru exchanged glances with each other and then sat, still confused. Kaoru looked around the mess hall at her crew and realized something was different. In front of every man was a plate and they were eating…some with glee.
Sano emerged from the galley with a plate of hot food and plopped it down in front of his captain. Kaoru glared at him and jerked her head in Kenshin's direction and reluctantly, her second in command went back into the kitchen and emerged with a second plate, tossing it unceremoniously down in front of him. Kenshin swallowed a rude remark, not wanting to get on Kaoru's bad side, but he made a mental note to try and figure out later why Sano seemed to dislike him so much. Following Kaoru's lead, he picked up the fork that had been stuck into the food and took a bite.
"What's wrong with this? It tastes perfectly fine to me." Kenshin said, taking another bite.
Beside him, Kaoru's eyes went wide as she slowly chewed and swallowed her own food.
Sano clapped his hands. "That's just it, it tastes FINE!"
Kenshin threw a confused glance at Kaoru, wondering if her first mate had somehow gone mad.
Kaoru set down her fork and hastened to explain. "You see, Captain, our cook is…well…he's not actually much of a cook." Behind her, Sano snorted derisively and she shot him a dirty look before continuing. "We're not used to such good food aboard this ship." She finished.
"I see." Kenshin said carefully. He wondered why she kept on such an inept cook, but he decided that this was not the time, nor the place for such questions.
"Sano, what exactly happened?" Kaoru asked.
"It was the kid…the kid cooked." Her spiky-headed first mate replied. "Apparently, ol' one leg had too much sake and passed out, so the kid made breakfast this morning."
"Yahiko made this?" Kenshin asked, incredulously.
"Yeah, didn't you know your kid could cook?" Sano asked rudely.
Kenshin frowned and shook his head. "He's not my son. His mother died and left him in my care. We had just been getting to know each other when the storm hit our ship. I didn't know he could cook. I don't know a lot of things about him, actually."
"Was that your reason for being out this time of year?" Kaoru asked.
Kenshin nodded, but he caught a glimpse of Yahiko peeking into the mess hall and decided to go talk to him. "Excuse me for a moment." He said, rising quickly.
Yahiko was hanging a clean, dry pot onto its requisite peg when Kenshin entered the galley.
"You did an excellent job with breakfast." Kenshin offered.
The boy nodded and blushed. Their conversations were still awkward, neither knew exactly what to do.
"Did your mother teach you how to cook?" Kenshin asked gently, kneeling in front of his young charge. Again the boy nodded and scuffed his feet, his eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of him.
His guardian smiled. "Your mother was always an excellent cook. No one ever taught her, she just knew how. She always seemed to know the exact amount of spice something needed, or how long to leave it in the oven."
Yahiko looked up at the older man and smiled tentatively. "I used to help her sometimes." He said quietly. "With church dinners…or for papa's birthday."
"I bet you were a great help." Kenshin paused for a moment as he thought of something. "Maybe, when we get home, you could teach me. Would you?"
Yahiko turned bright red and his smile grew wider. "You'd really like me to?" He squeaked.
Kenshin nodded. "I'd like nothing better."
It was a small step, but a step forward, nonetheless.
Glossary:
Packet ship: Small, fast ship for sending dispatches and orders.
Brigantine: Two-masted ship
Flags-Ships used flags to identify themselves
Oooh, things were getting too sad again, so I threw in the last bit with Sano and the amazing edible breakfast. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to further Kenshin and Yahiko's relationship.
Kaoru is ONCE AGAIN a bad ass in this chapter. I suppose that I've gotten a bit tired of her always being the damsel in distress. None of that "Oh, Kenshin, save me from the villain of the week" crap here. If I get myself too riled up, then she'll be saving a swooning Kenshin. But I doubt I'll get that mad.
And now we see Misao! She's also not your typical damsel. I've based her character in part from the character of Rosamond in Louisa May Alcott's "Long, Fatal Love Chase". But only IN PART. I used to get such a big kick out of those horribly romantic novels with swooning maidens and tragic deaths, etc. Misao has read too many of those, brooded too long over poetry by Shelley and Byron, I suppose. Silly girl, causing all this trouble. But then again, only Anna Nicole Smith WANTS to marry old, rich men. Misao wants none of it.
Is there something going on between her and Aoshi? (If Moonspark has her way, there will be)
Will Saitou foil Kaoru's plans?
Will Hiko recover from his monster hangover? Find out next time…