Disclaimer: Nobuhiro Watsuki is the owner of Rurouni Kenshin and all of its characters.
A/N: Wow, I guess this was a pretty good brainstorm after all! ^^ Thanks for all your reviews everybody! I understand some of you wanted a non-AU fic, and I'd been considering it, but I thought it was kinda weird to take the original series and just change the plot and not the time period...I dunno why, it just feels weird making Kaoru and Kenshin meet DIFFERENTLY after watching the series...oh well... Anyway, happy reading! ^^
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
As One
Chapter 2: The Search
Kaoru couldn't resist muting herself for the rest of the ride, and busying herself gazing out the window for the remaining hours. Though Megumi and Misao tried several times to strike up conversation, gossip didn't reach her ears close enough to get her interested. Time after time they failed until that gave up altogether and began to chat amongst themselves with Tae.
She couldn't understand the mixture of confusion and unknown disappointment beginning to brew in her heart. Kaoru seemed to have lost herself after watching him turn his back to the van, where she could no longer see his face, and his fine strands of hair shadowing eyes of violet.
The mysterious, red-haired stranger by the name of Kenshin...
"Oi, earth to Kaoru!"
Megumi waved her hand before her eyes as she snapped out of her trance.
"Ara?"
"Kaoru, we're here..."
She smiled warily and got off the van. Misao shut the door behind them and pulled two bags close to her. She jogged over the entrance of the new theatre.
"Lemme go look for our room!"
The rest gathered up their things and followed her. Yet Kaoru glanced over her shoulder just once behind her, just to ease her curious mind that the peculiar boy was no longer where they'd left him behind. She sighed as she grabbed hold of her suitcase and dashed through the doors after her friends.
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
He'd lost track of time, long past in the previous hours. Kenshin looked down at his walking feet, feeling numb and chilly from the lack of warmth, with his sandals worn and exposed to the cool, night air. His stomach grumbled as he soothed it with his palm, rubbing it from over his thin white shirt, collared with his buttons unbuttoned half way, and his sleeves rolled up carelessly to his elbows. He stopped on the street to set his bag down and withdrew a thick, navy blue gi (top portion in a kendo uniform) and draped it over his shoulders. Over the months he'd kept his kendo equipment with him at all times, and the thickness of the material kept him warm throughout many nights on the streets. He shivered as he picked up his pack again and set forth.
Hours upon hours passed in the long night. He had no wish to stop for sleep, though his feet groaned in agony. No cars ran along the highway he walked on, and to his right the moon was rising over the illuminated horizon of the sea. He looked up at the man on moon, with creamy white cheeks and a large, exposed brow. Oddly enough, it reminded him of another pair of cheeks, hinted crimson with strands of black interfering with the lovely face. It all fit together like a completed work of art, with the flesh of cream, the hair of night, and the contrasting blue eyes of the ocean breeze. He thoughtfully looked at the scene as he envisioned the red kimono, as golden sparrows darted east and west at each step she trotted.
"What a mystifying woman you are, Kaoru-dono." He said.
"So mystifying."
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
Kaoru rubbed the rough cloth against her face after another long, successful presentation of their show. She paused between scrubbing to let her arms rest, with her hands still holding the towel to her face. She suddenly felt herself jerk forward as the playful laughter of kids came from behind her back, followed by a slightly forceful shove into her legs. She slightly turned to see two little girls in their summer yukatas (simple version of a kimono worn only in summer), gazing up at her curiously with cocked heads. And before long, one of them widened her eyes with a grin, and lunged at Kaoru head on with open arms.
"Kaoru-nee!!!!"
(nee: shortened version of saying 'sister')
Kaoru let out a laugh and squatted down, pulling both girls into a group hug while still holding her towel in her right hand.
"Suzume-chan, Ayame-chan, you little rascals!"
Lucky for her, she'd already changed from her heavy performance kimono, and was now comfortably happy with a set of casual wear. She found herself tackled to the ground as they hugged her around the waist, trying to get their stubby little arms all the way around the circumference of it.
"Kaoru-nee came back!"
She playfully shooed them away and chased the girls around the corner to the entrance of the theatre and hustled them inside. She chased them down the isle and finally plopped down on the stage, panting and laughing while motioning to the girls to come sit beside her. They clutched her arms from both sides and leaned against her heavily.
"Kaoru-nee, you look even prettier than before!"
She smiled and ruffled the hair on their little heads.
"And you two look so much mature and lady-like."
"Really?!"
"Really really."
Ayame and Suzume exchanged rosy-cheeked, joyous looks and giggled. Kaoru lightly each gave them a shove off the stage as they jumped off.
"Come on you two, maybe you can go help Tae with her unpacking."
The two girls scampered off ahead of her as she exited the entrance.
They passed by the parking lot, when they found Sano taking a look at their van with an intent look on his face.
"Sanosuke, what happened?"
Ayame and Suzume each held onto Kaoru's pant legs as they stopped abruptly. He turned around and raised his eyebrows.
"Hey, look what has become of the two young ladies!"
They grinned yet again. Kaoru squatted down to their eye-level.
"You guys go ahead, ok? I'll catch up with you two later."
She watched them go running after each other as they ran into the house-like hotel. Then she joined Sano beside the van.
"Is something wrong?"
He looked at her warily and rubbed his head.
"Sounds like bad timing, but it looks like it broke down."
Kaoru slapped her forehead and sighed.
"Urrgh, looks like Tae's gonna have a lot of schedule-changing to do. Better go tell her now before she flips out, ne?"
He bent over to take a peek beneath the car.
"It shouldn't take long, but it depends how bad the damage is. Tell her I expect the repairing to take about a few days, if not a week or two."
"Gotcha."
She went up the stairs and greeted Tae who was folding up their costumes in one of the rooms. Tsubame was sitting in the corner with Ayame and Suzume, showing them all kinds of make-up materials. She told Tae the news, and she took it quite well, surprisingly.
"It's a nice place here. Good chance to take break."
Kaoru went to the window and pulled it open, letting in a good waft of air as she listened to the little summer chime going off in the corner. From the corner of her eye she watched the girls talking, imagining what it was like to wear a fancy kimono of a high price. Their eyes glistened at every thought. Sighing, she looked back out to the oceanic scenery, watching the waves rise up and down in a rhythmic pattern.
'I could get used to this sort of life.' She thought.
'Just me, the sky, and the ocean.'
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
"Excuse me, could you tell me which way is south?"
Kenshin received an odd look from the man who held a package in both hands. He placed it on his pick-up truck and tipped his hat up to get a better look at him.
"Why'd you wanna know that, chap?"
Kenshin smiled at the man, uncertain.
"I'm actually kinda heading for Kyuushyuu."
The deliveryman pulled off one of his gloves and wiped his brow. He chuckled as he shook his head at the young man before him.
"You young modern chaps can clearly do anything, can't you?"
Kenshin laughed quietly along with him.
"Maybe. If I put my heart into it."
The man pulled his glove back on and pointed in the direction straight down the roadway.
"You'll be needing to go straight down this road. It'll be a considerable amount of miles before you hit the bridge, and then a considerable distance before you get into the city areas, but like you said, put your heart into it and it should be nothing."
He paused before climbing aboard his truck. He looked over his shoulder, and finally motioned Kenshin to come.
"Get yourself on. I'll give you a ride part way."
The young wanderer gave him a curious look.
"Why are you doing this for me?"
The man held the brim of his hat with his fingers and pulled it down slightly.
"Learned some good words of advice from ye today. Just consider it a way of repayment, or even just plain special service."
Kenshin threw his pack over on the back of the truck and hoisted himself over after it. He jabbed a thumbs-up sign where the man could see him in the rear-view mirror.
"I appreciate it."
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
An hour or two later, Kenshin watched the scenery of the ocean go on, unchanged. They finally reached a town a mile or two more down before the truck came to an abrupt stop, the engine going silent. He heard the door slam shut, and looked over the edge as he saw the man look up at him with squinted eyes.
"Here it is. From here on, walking should be simple."
He leapt off the truck with his pack, dusting himself off as soon as he touched land.
"Where are we now?"
The man thought for a moment.
"Let's see, came about quite some miles, 'bout two hours...we're in Shimon."
"So...we're on the very edge of Shikoku?"
The man nodded.
"You got that right chap."
The old man pointed a head of them to where a white dot was clearly visible.
"See that thing there? That's the bridge. Cross that and you're in your destination area. I'm actually heading in the same direction, but I've got a considerable number of errands I gotta do 'afore 4:00, so from here you're on your own."
Kenshin nodded and dug his hands into his pockets.
"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to repay you?"
He shook his head.
"Just keep on givin' good words of advice to those 'uns lacking brains like me. Spread the knowledge, spread the wealth."
Kenshin grinned and began to walk, waving a hand carelessly in farewell. But after a few steps, he suddenly stopped and dropped his hand, turning around part way.
"Sir, do you think...I could ask another favor?"
The man paused before climbing abroad the truck.
"What's that?"
Kenshin stooped down and placed his bag on the ground, and rummaged around inside of it for a piece of scratch paper and a writing utensil. He finally satisfied himself with a pencil and began scribbling down a few things on the paper on his knee. After a he finished, he folded it neatly into fourths and handed it to him.
"Since you'd be one from around this area, I'm assuming you are familiar with lots of people in this area."
The man looked down at the paper curiously, then met his amethyst eyes and nodded, slightly smiling as if bringing back some pleasant memory.
"Aye, I've been livin' here all my life. What about it?"
Kenshin hoisted the pack back onto his shoulder and smiled shyly.
"I'd like to pass that note to someone in particular."
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
Kaoru arced her back as she stretched, groaning as she swung her head side to side to relieve the pressure points.
They'd spent about three hours working at the van, with Megumi sitting on a nearby bench, sowing up one of the costumes while Sano and Aoshi poked through their gadgets. Misao stood with Kaoru, watching how the progress was going and handing utensils to the men, hard at work.
"Do you think you've got it, Sano? Aoshi?"
The girls received a grunt from the ex-gangster as he knocked his head against the hammer next to his ear. Megumi chuckled quietly to herself and proceeded with her needlework.
"Kaoru, you must be happy though, getting such a lucky opportunity to stay here, ne?"
She grinned back at her, nodding vigorously.
"I love the ocean. Such a shame, its such a nice day and we have no boat!"
"Such a spoiled little thing..."
"What's that, kitsune?"
"Nothing that concerns you, tanuki-chan."
They could hear Sano laughing to himself while Aoshi just sighed, continuing his work.
"Excuse me, is this where the Sparrow Theatre group is lodging tonight?"
The group looked up from their giggling and saw a man in a ramen-delivery uniform. Kaoru was the first to come up to him.
"Yes, but I'm afraid we didn't order a take out for ramen tonight..."
The young man blushed slightly at the sight of her, then reached behind his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a small piece of paper.
"This message was passed around to me, and I was told to give it to a young lady by the name of Ms. Kaoru Kamiya."
Kaoru was surprised. For one, this was not the age of telegrams. And for another thing, she knew almost everyone in this area since they came back every so often to put on their shows in this town. But out of all of them, she found that there should be no need to send messages around hand-to-hand...
"That would be me, sir, thank you very much."
He bowed and peddled away on his bicycle.
She stood there for a moment, holding the folded up note between her fingertips. She was hesitant to open it, being that it was so unexpected and...unique, but curiosity was killing her. She took it in both hands and began to unfold when she felt numerous presences creeping up behind her back. She turned around and gave them a sideways look, watching Megumi, Misao, and Sano's faces falter disappointingly.
"Can't we see the note?"
"Of course not. Now go away and let me read."
Misao wrapped an arm around Kaoru's and leaned her head against her shoulder.
"Kaoru-chan, please? I'll give you half of my share of dinner tonight."
She inched away from Misao's grasp and began to back away with all three of them nearing her with continuous flows of 'please please please'. She finally ran away into the theatre and dashed up the stairs, with them laughing and pounding on after her. She gasped and stumbled into her room, sliding the door shut and locking it. She finally breathed after all the knocking on the door subsided, and she heard their footsteps go padding downstairs.
She went to the large window and opened it, and she seated herself on the sill. The sun was already setting, and it was blinding to look onto the sea with all the sunrays reflecting off of its surface. She looked back down at the note, tinted orange by the outside scenery, and noticed all the small rips and tears along the edges, and the creases that were made through the paper after being passed around from person to person. She took it by the corners and opened it.
She read it over and over, and her heart pounded every time she did, perhaps out of both confusion and excitement. The words were simple, and it only consisted one sentence, but she couldn't comprehend what it was trying to say or if it had some moral meaning behind it. Its simplicity was just so openly clear that it mind-boggled her. In deep thought, she set the note down on the coffee table and returned to her sitting position. She let her head lean to one side as her blue eyes focused on the world outside, letting her mind ponder about every word she'd read and the secret message behind each one of them.
And as the night closed in, her eyes sagged into slumber, with her lashes meeting the tips of her cheekbones. The wind blew in, caressing her hair away from her face as she slept, and the note on the table rustled. The moonlight beamed in on it like spotlight, and the messy handwriting stood out on the contrasting white paper.
The mixture of pale light and wind were the perfect methods to stir in the letter's words into Kaoru's dreams deep into the night. Every syllable echoed in her ear.
'I want to see you again.'
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
TO BE CONTINUED...
Happy reading!! ^___^
A/N: Wow, I guess this was a pretty good brainstorm after all! ^^ Thanks for all your reviews everybody! I understand some of you wanted a non-AU fic, and I'd been considering it, but I thought it was kinda weird to take the original series and just change the plot and not the time period...I dunno why, it just feels weird making Kaoru and Kenshin meet DIFFERENTLY after watching the series...oh well... Anyway, happy reading! ^^
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
As One
Chapter 2: The Search
Kaoru couldn't resist muting herself for the rest of the ride, and busying herself gazing out the window for the remaining hours. Though Megumi and Misao tried several times to strike up conversation, gossip didn't reach her ears close enough to get her interested. Time after time they failed until that gave up altogether and began to chat amongst themselves with Tae.
She couldn't understand the mixture of confusion and unknown disappointment beginning to brew in her heart. Kaoru seemed to have lost herself after watching him turn his back to the van, where she could no longer see his face, and his fine strands of hair shadowing eyes of violet.
The mysterious, red-haired stranger by the name of Kenshin...
"Oi, earth to Kaoru!"
Megumi waved her hand before her eyes as she snapped out of her trance.
"Ara?"
"Kaoru, we're here..."
She smiled warily and got off the van. Misao shut the door behind them and pulled two bags close to her. She jogged over the entrance of the new theatre.
"Lemme go look for our room!"
The rest gathered up their things and followed her. Yet Kaoru glanced over her shoulder just once behind her, just to ease her curious mind that the peculiar boy was no longer where they'd left him behind. She sighed as she grabbed hold of her suitcase and dashed through the doors after her friends.
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
He'd lost track of time, long past in the previous hours. Kenshin looked down at his walking feet, feeling numb and chilly from the lack of warmth, with his sandals worn and exposed to the cool, night air. His stomach grumbled as he soothed it with his palm, rubbing it from over his thin white shirt, collared with his buttons unbuttoned half way, and his sleeves rolled up carelessly to his elbows. He stopped on the street to set his bag down and withdrew a thick, navy blue gi (top portion in a kendo uniform) and draped it over his shoulders. Over the months he'd kept his kendo equipment with him at all times, and the thickness of the material kept him warm throughout many nights on the streets. He shivered as he picked up his pack again and set forth.
Hours upon hours passed in the long night. He had no wish to stop for sleep, though his feet groaned in agony. No cars ran along the highway he walked on, and to his right the moon was rising over the illuminated horizon of the sea. He looked up at the man on moon, with creamy white cheeks and a large, exposed brow. Oddly enough, it reminded him of another pair of cheeks, hinted crimson with strands of black interfering with the lovely face. It all fit together like a completed work of art, with the flesh of cream, the hair of night, and the contrasting blue eyes of the ocean breeze. He thoughtfully looked at the scene as he envisioned the red kimono, as golden sparrows darted east and west at each step she trotted.
"What a mystifying woman you are, Kaoru-dono." He said.
"So mystifying."
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
Kaoru rubbed the rough cloth against her face after another long, successful presentation of their show. She paused between scrubbing to let her arms rest, with her hands still holding the towel to her face. She suddenly felt herself jerk forward as the playful laughter of kids came from behind her back, followed by a slightly forceful shove into her legs. She slightly turned to see two little girls in their summer yukatas (simple version of a kimono worn only in summer), gazing up at her curiously with cocked heads. And before long, one of them widened her eyes with a grin, and lunged at Kaoru head on with open arms.
"Kaoru-nee!!!!"
(nee: shortened version of saying 'sister')
Kaoru let out a laugh and squatted down, pulling both girls into a group hug while still holding her towel in her right hand.
"Suzume-chan, Ayame-chan, you little rascals!"
Lucky for her, she'd already changed from her heavy performance kimono, and was now comfortably happy with a set of casual wear. She found herself tackled to the ground as they hugged her around the waist, trying to get their stubby little arms all the way around the circumference of it.
"Kaoru-nee came back!"
She playfully shooed them away and chased the girls around the corner to the entrance of the theatre and hustled them inside. She chased them down the isle and finally plopped down on the stage, panting and laughing while motioning to the girls to come sit beside her. They clutched her arms from both sides and leaned against her heavily.
"Kaoru-nee, you look even prettier than before!"
She smiled and ruffled the hair on their little heads.
"And you two look so much mature and lady-like."
"Really?!"
"Really really."
Ayame and Suzume exchanged rosy-cheeked, joyous looks and giggled. Kaoru lightly each gave them a shove off the stage as they jumped off.
"Come on you two, maybe you can go help Tae with her unpacking."
The two girls scampered off ahead of her as she exited the entrance.
They passed by the parking lot, when they found Sano taking a look at their van with an intent look on his face.
"Sanosuke, what happened?"
Ayame and Suzume each held onto Kaoru's pant legs as they stopped abruptly. He turned around and raised his eyebrows.
"Hey, look what has become of the two young ladies!"
They grinned yet again. Kaoru squatted down to their eye-level.
"You guys go ahead, ok? I'll catch up with you two later."
She watched them go running after each other as they ran into the house-like hotel. Then she joined Sano beside the van.
"Is something wrong?"
He looked at her warily and rubbed his head.
"Sounds like bad timing, but it looks like it broke down."
Kaoru slapped her forehead and sighed.
"Urrgh, looks like Tae's gonna have a lot of schedule-changing to do. Better go tell her now before she flips out, ne?"
He bent over to take a peek beneath the car.
"It shouldn't take long, but it depends how bad the damage is. Tell her I expect the repairing to take about a few days, if not a week or two."
"Gotcha."
She went up the stairs and greeted Tae who was folding up their costumes in one of the rooms. Tsubame was sitting in the corner with Ayame and Suzume, showing them all kinds of make-up materials. She told Tae the news, and she took it quite well, surprisingly.
"It's a nice place here. Good chance to take break."
Kaoru went to the window and pulled it open, letting in a good waft of air as she listened to the little summer chime going off in the corner. From the corner of her eye she watched the girls talking, imagining what it was like to wear a fancy kimono of a high price. Their eyes glistened at every thought. Sighing, she looked back out to the oceanic scenery, watching the waves rise up and down in a rhythmic pattern.
'I could get used to this sort of life.' She thought.
'Just me, the sky, and the ocean.'
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
"Excuse me, could you tell me which way is south?"
Kenshin received an odd look from the man who held a package in both hands. He placed it on his pick-up truck and tipped his hat up to get a better look at him.
"Why'd you wanna know that, chap?"
Kenshin smiled at the man, uncertain.
"I'm actually kinda heading for Kyuushyuu."
The deliveryman pulled off one of his gloves and wiped his brow. He chuckled as he shook his head at the young man before him.
"You young modern chaps can clearly do anything, can't you?"
Kenshin laughed quietly along with him.
"Maybe. If I put my heart into it."
The man pulled his glove back on and pointed in the direction straight down the roadway.
"You'll be needing to go straight down this road. It'll be a considerable amount of miles before you hit the bridge, and then a considerable distance before you get into the city areas, but like you said, put your heart into it and it should be nothing."
He paused before climbing aboard his truck. He looked over his shoulder, and finally motioned Kenshin to come.
"Get yourself on. I'll give you a ride part way."
The young wanderer gave him a curious look.
"Why are you doing this for me?"
The man held the brim of his hat with his fingers and pulled it down slightly.
"Learned some good words of advice from ye today. Just consider it a way of repayment, or even just plain special service."
Kenshin threw his pack over on the back of the truck and hoisted himself over after it. He jabbed a thumbs-up sign where the man could see him in the rear-view mirror.
"I appreciate it."
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
An hour or two later, Kenshin watched the scenery of the ocean go on, unchanged. They finally reached a town a mile or two more down before the truck came to an abrupt stop, the engine going silent. He heard the door slam shut, and looked over the edge as he saw the man look up at him with squinted eyes.
"Here it is. From here on, walking should be simple."
He leapt off the truck with his pack, dusting himself off as soon as he touched land.
"Where are we now?"
The man thought for a moment.
"Let's see, came about quite some miles, 'bout two hours...we're in Shimon."
"So...we're on the very edge of Shikoku?"
The man nodded.
"You got that right chap."
The old man pointed a head of them to where a white dot was clearly visible.
"See that thing there? That's the bridge. Cross that and you're in your destination area. I'm actually heading in the same direction, but I've got a considerable number of errands I gotta do 'afore 4:00, so from here you're on your own."
Kenshin nodded and dug his hands into his pockets.
"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to repay you?"
He shook his head.
"Just keep on givin' good words of advice to those 'uns lacking brains like me. Spread the knowledge, spread the wealth."
Kenshin grinned and began to walk, waving a hand carelessly in farewell. But after a few steps, he suddenly stopped and dropped his hand, turning around part way.
"Sir, do you think...I could ask another favor?"
The man paused before climbing abroad the truck.
"What's that?"
Kenshin stooped down and placed his bag on the ground, and rummaged around inside of it for a piece of scratch paper and a writing utensil. He finally satisfied himself with a pencil and began scribbling down a few things on the paper on his knee. After a he finished, he folded it neatly into fourths and handed it to him.
"Since you'd be one from around this area, I'm assuming you are familiar with lots of people in this area."
The man looked down at the paper curiously, then met his amethyst eyes and nodded, slightly smiling as if bringing back some pleasant memory.
"Aye, I've been livin' here all my life. What about it?"
Kenshin hoisted the pack back onto his shoulder and smiled shyly.
"I'd like to pass that note to someone in particular."
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
Kaoru arced her back as she stretched, groaning as she swung her head side to side to relieve the pressure points.
They'd spent about three hours working at the van, with Megumi sitting on a nearby bench, sowing up one of the costumes while Sano and Aoshi poked through their gadgets. Misao stood with Kaoru, watching how the progress was going and handing utensils to the men, hard at work.
"Do you think you've got it, Sano? Aoshi?"
The girls received a grunt from the ex-gangster as he knocked his head against the hammer next to his ear. Megumi chuckled quietly to herself and proceeded with her needlework.
"Kaoru, you must be happy though, getting such a lucky opportunity to stay here, ne?"
She grinned back at her, nodding vigorously.
"I love the ocean. Such a shame, its such a nice day and we have no boat!"
"Such a spoiled little thing..."
"What's that, kitsune?"
"Nothing that concerns you, tanuki-chan."
They could hear Sano laughing to himself while Aoshi just sighed, continuing his work.
"Excuse me, is this where the Sparrow Theatre group is lodging tonight?"
The group looked up from their giggling and saw a man in a ramen-delivery uniform. Kaoru was the first to come up to him.
"Yes, but I'm afraid we didn't order a take out for ramen tonight..."
The young man blushed slightly at the sight of her, then reached behind his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a small piece of paper.
"This message was passed around to me, and I was told to give it to a young lady by the name of Ms. Kaoru Kamiya."
Kaoru was surprised. For one, this was not the age of telegrams. And for another thing, she knew almost everyone in this area since they came back every so often to put on their shows in this town. But out of all of them, she found that there should be no need to send messages around hand-to-hand...
"That would be me, sir, thank you very much."
He bowed and peddled away on his bicycle.
She stood there for a moment, holding the folded up note between her fingertips. She was hesitant to open it, being that it was so unexpected and...unique, but curiosity was killing her. She took it in both hands and began to unfold when she felt numerous presences creeping up behind her back. She turned around and gave them a sideways look, watching Megumi, Misao, and Sano's faces falter disappointingly.
"Can't we see the note?"
"Of course not. Now go away and let me read."
Misao wrapped an arm around Kaoru's and leaned her head against her shoulder.
"Kaoru-chan, please? I'll give you half of my share of dinner tonight."
She inched away from Misao's grasp and began to back away with all three of them nearing her with continuous flows of 'please please please'. She finally ran away into the theatre and dashed up the stairs, with them laughing and pounding on after her. She gasped and stumbled into her room, sliding the door shut and locking it. She finally breathed after all the knocking on the door subsided, and she heard their footsteps go padding downstairs.
She went to the large window and opened it, and she seated herself on the sill. The sun was already setting, and it was blinding to look onto the sea with all the sunrays reflecting off of its surface. She looked back down at the note, tinted orange by the outside scenery, and noticed all the small rips and tears along the edges, and the creases that were made through the paper after being passed around from person to person. She took it by the corners and opened it.
She read it over and over, and her heart pounded every time she did, perhaps out of both confusion and excitement. The words were simple, and it only consisted one sentence, but she couldn't comprehend what it was trying to say or if it had some moral meaning behind it. Its simplicity was just so openly clear that it mind-boggled her. In deep thought, she set the note down on the coffee table and returned to her sitting position. She let her head lean to one side as her blue eyes focused on the world outside, letting her mind ponder about every word she'd read and the secret message behind each one of them.
And as the night closed in, her eyes sagged into slumber, with her lashes meeting the tips of her cheekbones. The wind blew in, caressing her hair away from her face as she slept, and the note on the table rustled. The moonlight beamed in on it like spotlight, and the messy handwriting stood out on the contrasting white paper.
The mixture of pale light and wind were the perfect methods to stir in the letter's words into Kaoru's dreams deep into the night. Every syllable echoed in her ear.
'I want to see you again.'
*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*-.,.-*
TO BE CONTINUED...
Happy reading!! ^___^