'...' = Thoughts "..." = Speaking `~`~`~' = Dreaming
[Information containing anything to do with the Japanese customs I use in this story will be at the bottom of the chapters. Definition of Japanese words at bottom. Author responses to any reviews will be put on the bottom of chapters in the future also.]
~*~*~*~
Chapter 2: ...It dragged on forever...
He had been running for over an hour until he finally started to slow down, knowing that he had long ago passed any men with in a five-mile range. Kaoru had some how found comfort in his arms and had fallen fast asleep. He stopped at a clearing, a small spot surrounded by trees. Fireflies circled around making the grass show it's true color. He sat her down, leaned his back on a tree and pulled her to his chest making her yawn softly. Taking both of his sheath's out of his hakama, he sat them down on the grass with a thud, forcing a nearby firefly to fly off the grass blade it was occupying.
He looked down at Kaoru, 'who would send her to kill Kanryuu? She looks like she couldn't kill a firefly. Maybe I'll take the time to find out who this Hiroshi Jiro is before I kill her.' He let his head hang down, a position he had gotten used to resting in. Before he let his eyes droop close he saw a firefly glow on to Kaoru's face.
`~`~`~`He had stopped just for a moment and gazed longingly at a lone firefly flying around him, the glow from it making his bright-violet eyes lighten in the pitch blackness of the night.
"Shinta!" A gruff voice called, obviously annoyed.
He turned around, slightly wincing at his own stupidity for stopping to gaze at a firefly. "Hai, Taro-sama?"
"It's shishou to you, boy!" Taro yelled kicking him in the stomach making him fall to the ground.
"Stop!... Stop it!" A female voice yelled, kneeling down to him to help him up. He spat up a little blood and got up with her help.
"Tari-san! What on earth are you doing?!" She yelled at Taro. Wiping the blood off Shinta's mouth, with a spare cloth she had.
"Er! Akane, the boy was just standing there! We're moving here and we don't have time to waste!" Taro yelled, while two other women ran to see what the argument was about.
"Oh! Taro-san... Did you hurt Shinta again?!" One of the women asked looking at the boy sadly.
"Kasumi, Sukura! We are supposed to be moving here! We need to get going!" Taro demanded.
"Taro, we've been traveling for hours now, we can take a break here." Akane said putting her hands on her hips. Taro grunted and walked away. When he went away, Shinta looked up at the girls and then looked down at the ground.
"Domo sumimasen... I just..."
"Spaced out?" Kasumi asked.
"I was admiring the fireflies." He said, looking back up from the ground and staring at a firefly.
Sakura smiled, "they are very pretty."
He sighed, "I didn't mean to cause any harm."
"Shinta," Akane called making him look up at her. "You need not worry about causing harm. Taro-san is just a conceded jerk and only cares about himself."
Sakura and Kasumi nodded.
"Yeah! So let's go now, Shinta..." Sakura said smiling and taking him back to the rest of the group...`~`~`~`
He felt something stir and move slightly in his arms causing him to open his eyes for a moment and blink until he finally looked up and saw Kaoru on the opposite side of him, shivering slightly. She looked at him for a moment in curiosity, swearing to herself she had just seen his eyes go from a gentle violet to a cold-amber. He quickly got up, grabbing his katana and wakazashi and sliding them into his hakama belt. He peered down at her.
"Nani... are you going to do... with me?" She asked frightened. She didn't even know who this man was, let alone what he was going to do with her.
He said nothing, instead he hosted her up by gripping her shoulder's tightly and walked off, expecting her to follow him.
'Where's he going?!' She looked at his retreating form and soon followed. "Hey! Before I walk with you all over Japan, I demand to know who you are!" She yelled after him but he seemed to ignore her and continue walking. She growled, the least he could do was tell her his name! They both continued their walk for what seemed forever to Kaoru, he stayed ahead of her and she followed behind. Kaoru was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realized he had stopped and ran into the back of him.
"Itai!" She said when she bumped into him rather hard. She stepped back and rubbed her head, feeling a little bruise forming. She looked around, they were on a small hill looking down at a village.
"This is... Yokohama!" Kaoru exclaimed excitingly.
He raised an eyebrow, "nani's so great about it?"
Kaoru giggled, "oh! So many things! First they have the BEST miso soup, everything is cheaper here then in Tokyo and sometimes the yakuza I work for let me patrol this area, though I'm really shopping," she giggled again.
Her giggling stopped when she felt a cold blade at her throat and she opened her eyes in shock, he was standing there with his wakazashi to her throat.
He growled, "do you willingly work for the yakuza?"
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, knowing if she shook her head the blade would cut her, "iie... Of course not... I was taken by them when I was a child."
He removed his wakazashi and put it back in it's rightful sheath. Kaoru wiped her forehead that had formed beads of sweat on top. She shivered slightly and avoided looking at him by continuing to stare at the village.
"We're going to the docks to board a ship that will travel us to Kyoto. We're not here for leisure, don't get lost and stay behind me." He ordered. She glared at him, though he had his back turned and began to walk down the hill on to the dirt road.
She soon followed, 'this isn't fun.' She thought, sighing to herself and continued thinking, 'I think I was better off with Hiroshi-sama. Oh... I'm still acting like he's my shishou, but who know's where this man's going to take me... Wait a minute!' She stopped walking and stood in place while he continued walking.
He felt her ki become somewhat distant and did not hear footsteps behind him anymore. He turned around and saw her just standing there glaring at him. He used his speed to get behind her, while she looked around seeing where he went. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.
"I thought I said for you to stay behind me..." He growled looking at her.
She turned around and pouted, "I realized something."
He looked unamused but she kept talking anyway, "I need to know if your going to kill me. Because the yakuza will come looking for me sooner or later, and will kill me if I don't return. They know it would be suspicious that I just happened to leave after supposedly killing Kanryuu and would probably think I hired someone to kill him for me, and I just ran off."
He said nothing after several minutes passed by, "well?" She tempted again.
He sighed, "listen, woman," he said sternly. "Im taking you to Kyoto, I have more important things to worry about then you, so right now I'll let you live."
Her eyes brightened and she was about to smile when he turned his back towards her and said, "but don't get your hopes up."
She pouted and knitted her brows together and followed him again.
~*~*~
They reached the docks as a few people were boarding and Kaoru saw a man standing there accepting tickets.
"Do you have two tickets?" Kaoru asked, but was ignored again. She sighed. He walked over to the man and she stood behind him.
"I have a passenger with me today, how much will it be?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing for you sir, nothing at all. Free of charge!" The man said. He nodded and walked on to the ship.
Kaoru followed him after telling the man, "honto ni arigato gozaimas!" She got a friendly smile and a "ja ne," from the man.
As soon as she stepped on to the ship she looked around for him and found him leaning against the ship's railing with his eyes closed. She stomped over to him very loudly with an angry expression on her face. As soon as she got close to him she bursted out,
"Nani's wrong with you?! That man didn't make you pay and you didn't even thank him!"
He opened his eyes and glared at her, "I don't have to thank anyone."
That didn't make her stop talking, "You just don't appreciate what people do for you! Your selfish!" She huffed and with that, walked off to the other side of the ship to get away from him.
He closed his eyes again, not caring about a word she had said.
The ship started to move away from the docks and the were on there way to Kyoto.
~*~*~
She rested her elbows against the railing of the ship and looked out into the sea. 'How am I going to survive this trip? How long do I have travel with this man? All he tells me is where were going. He won't even tell me who he is!' She over heard some people talking and listened in, having nothing else to do.
"Have you heard?" One woman asked.
"About what?" Another asked.
"They say a hitokiri is on this ship." The first woman replied. Kaoru gasped but continued listening.
"Really? Do the ships crew know?" The other woman asked.
"Hai! They let him on, oddly enough he was with a woman."
"He could have worked for the Ishinshisi, they never make any of their members pay. Well, do you know who he is?"
The woman nodded, "hai. You'll recognize him easily, he has red hair, a crossed-shaped scar on his left cheek and a hitokiri's eyes."
Kaoru froze and suddenly stopped breathing and turned in the direction of the woman to hear her last sentence,
"it's the Battousai..."
At her words, Kaoru fainted, the last thing she saw was the two women talking.
~*~*~
Kaoru opened her eyes, her vision slightly blurred and was staring at a ceiling. She blinked again and sat up, looking around. She was in a futon, obviously in a cabin with a little candle lite in the corner, bringing what little light it could to the room. She stood up, walked over to the door and opened it. It made a slight creaking noise and she looked out into the hallway. She closed the door and started to walk down the hallway.
She took the steps up to the deck, where she had been earlier, and saw noone. Which was expected as it was night time, 'how long was I out?' She thought. A slight breeze made her hair blow in the wind's direction. Her ribbon was no longer in her hair making her hair move more freely. She stepped over to the same railing she had been leaning her elbows against and put her hands on them. Admiring the clearness of the sea.
'If those women were telling the truth...' She turned her head toward the moon, 'then I must get away from him as soon as possible. I've heard so many rumors... He's too dangerous.' She sighed.
She then heard footsteps getting louder behind her. She turned around but she saw no one, 'great. Now I'm hearing things.' She thought. An arm locked her in it's grip around her neck, and she gasped.
"What a pretty thing we have here..." The voice said, laughing. She saw a knife in his hand.
She did the only thing she could do... She screamed.
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Japanese words:
Yakuza (used in previous chapter) - Organized crime gang or the japanese mafia.
Domo sumimasen - sorry: (I'm) sorry
Honto ni arigato gozaimas - Thank you very much
Hitokiri - Manslayer/Assassin
Ja ne - cheerio
Nani - What
Iie - No
Shishou - Master
Katana - Long sword
Wakazashi - Short sword
Information on Japanese customs:
Beds:
Beds in Western-style hotels differ little from the ones you are used to at home. Japanese-style beds or futon consist of pliable mattresses or skiki-buton and thick quilts or kake-buton as well as pillows, makura. They are stored in cupboards during the day and spread out at night on the tatami-mat floor. If you stay in a ryokan (traditional inn), the maid will lay out your bed after you have had dinner in your room. But in a less expensive minshuk (guesthouse), bedding has to be laid out and put away by the guest.
-This information taken from "Japanese, A rough guide dictionary phrase book" Online information about Rough Guides can be found at their website www.roughguides.com
Words from Nanakilover/Brukaoru (Author): Thanks for the reviews, aglaia102, l3al3yanime, and chibiBattousai. Glad you all like it. My apologies chibiBattousai! Anyways, If you don't think there's enough drama or action, Soujirou will appear in the fifth chapter or sometime after and there's a huge secret to reveal! So keep reviewing so I can have more encouragement to write!
Disclaimer (so no one will sue me): Creator Nobuhiro Watsuki has all the rights to Rurouni Kenshin. If you want to sue me, try everyone else who has made a fanfic first.
[Information containing anything to do with the Japanese customs I use in this story will be at the bottom of the chapters. Definition of Japanese words at bottom. Author responses to any reviews will be put on the bottom of chapters in the future also.]
~*~*~*~
Chapter 2: ...It dragged on forever...
He had been running for over an hour until he finally started to slow down, knowing that he had long ago passed any men with in a five-mile range. Kaoru had some how found comfort in his arms and had fallen fast asleep. He stopped at a clearing, a small spot surrounded by trees. Fireflies circled around making the grass show it's true color. He sat her down, leaned his back on a tree and pulled her to his chest making her yawn softly. Taking both of his sheath's out of his hakama, he sat them down on the grass with a thud, forcing a nearby firefly to fly off the grass blade it was occupying.
He looked down at Kaoru, 'who would send her to kill Kanryuu? She looks like she couldn't kill a firefly. Maybe I'll take the time to find out who this Hiroshi Jiro is before I kill her.' He let his head hang down, a position he had gotten used to resting in. Before he let his eyes droop close he saw a firefly glow on to Kaoru's face.
`~`~`~`He had stopped just for a moment and gazed longingly at a lone firefly flying around him, the glow from it making his bright-violet eyes lighten in the pitch blackness of the night.
"Shinta!" A gruff voice called, obviously annoyed.
He turned around, slightly wincing at his own stupidity for stopping to gaze at a firefly. "Hai, Taro-sama?"
"It's shishou to you, boy!" Taro yelled kicking him in the stomach making him fall to the ground.
"Stop!... Stop it!" A female voice yelled, kneeling down to him to help him up. He spat up a little blood and got up with her help.
"Tari-san! What on earth are you doing?!" She yelled at Taro. Wiping the blood off Shinta's mouth, with a spare cloth she had.
"Er! Akane, the boy was just standing there! We're moving here and we don't have time to waste!" Taro yelled, while two other women ran to see what the argument was about.
"Oh! Taro-san... Did you hurt Shinta again?!" One of the women asked looking at the boy sadly.
"Kasumi, Sukura! We are supposed to be moving here! We need to get going!" Taro demanded.
"Taro, we've been traveling for hours now, we can take a break here." Akane said putting her hands on her hips. Taro grunted and walked away. When he went away, Shinta looked up at the girls and then looked down at the ground.
"Domo sumimasen... I just..."
"Spaced out?" Kasumi asked.
"I was admiring the fireflies." He said, looking back up from the ground and staring at a firefly.
Sakura smiled, "they are very pretty."
He sighed, "I didn't mean to cause any harm."
"Shinta," Akane called making him look up at her. "You need not worry about causing harm. Taro-san is just a conceded jerk and only cares about himself."
Sakura and Kasumi nodded.
"Yeah! So let's go now, Shinta..." Sakura said smiling and taking him back to the rest of the group...`~`~`~`
He felt something stir and move slightly in his arms causing him to open his eyes for a moment and blink until he finally looked up and saw Kaoru on the opposite side of him, shivering slightly. She looked at him for a moment in curiosity, swearing to herself she had just seen his eyes go from a gentle violet to a cold-amber. He quickly got up, grabbing his katana and wakazashi and sliding them into his hakama belt. He peered down at her.
"Nani... are you going to do... with me?" She asked frightened. She didn't even know who this man was, let alone what he was going to do with her.
He said nothing, instead he hosted her up by gripping her shoulder's tightly and walked off, expecting her to follow him.
'Where's he going?!' She looked at his retreating form and soon followed. "Hey! Before I walk with you all over Japan, I demand to know who you are!" She yelled after him but he seemed to ignore her and continue walking. She growled, the least he could do was tell her his name! They both continued their walk for what seemed forever to Kaoru, he stayed ahead of her and she followed behind. Kaoru was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realized he had stopped and ran into the back of him.
"Itai!" She said when she bumped into him rather hard. She stepped back and rubbed her head, feeling a little bruise forming. She looked around, they were on a small hill looking down at a village.
"This is... Yokohama!" Kaoru exclaimed excitingly.
He raised an eyebrow, "nani's so great about it?"
Kaoru giggled, "oh! So many things! First they have the BEST miso soup, everything is cheaper here then in Tokyo and sometimes the yakuza I work for let me patrol this area, though I'm really shopping," she giggled again.
Her giggling stopped when she felt a cold blade at her throat and she opened her eyes in shock, he was standing there with his wakazashi to her throat.
He growled, "do you willingly work for the yakuza?"
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, knowing if she shook her head the blade would cut her, "iie... Of course not... I was taken by them when I was a child."
He removed his wakazashi and put it back in it's rightful sheath. Kaoru wiped her forehead that had formed beads of sweat on top. She shivered slightly and avoided looking at him by continuing to stare at the village.
"We're going to the docks to board a ship that will travel us to Kyoto. We're not here for leisure, don't get lost and stay behind me." He ordered. She glared at him, though he had his back turned and began to walk down the hill on to the dirt road.
She soon followed, 'this isn't fun.' She thought, sighing to herself and continued thinking, 'I think I was better off with Hiroshi-sama. Oh... I'm still acting like he's my shishou, but who know's where this man's going to take me... Wait a minute!' She stopped walking and stood in place while he continued walking.
He felt her ki become somewhat distant and did not hear footsteps behind him anymore. He turned around and saw her just standing there glaring at him. He used his speed to get behind her, while she looked around seeing where he went. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.
"I thought I said for you to stay behind me..." He growled looking at her.
She turned around and pouted, "I realized something."
He looked unamused but she kept talking anyway, "I need to know if your going to kill me. Because the yakuza will come looking for me sooner or later, and will kill me if I don't return. They know it would be suspicious that I just happened to leave after supposedly killing Kanryuu and would probably think I hired someone to kill him for me, and I just ran off."
He said nothing after several minutes passed by, "well?" She tempted again.
He sighed, "listen, woman," he said sternly. "Im taking you to Kyoto, I have more important things to worry about then you, so right now I'll let you live."
Her eyes brightened and she was about to smile when he turned his back towards her and said, "but don't get your hopes up."
She pouted and knitted her brows together and followed him again.
~*~*~
They reached the docks as a few people were boarding and Kaoru saw a man standing there accepting tickets.
"Do you have two tickets?" Kaoru asked, but was ignored again. She sighed. He walked over to the man and she stood behind him.
"I have a passenger with me today, how much will it be?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing for you sir, nothing at all. Free of charge!" The man said. He nodded and walked on to the ship.
Kaoru followed him after telling the man, "honto ni arigato gozaimas!" She got a friendly smile and a "ja ne," from the man.
As soon as she stepped on to the ship she looked around for him and found him leaning against the ship's railing with his eyes closed. She stomped over to him very loudly with an angry expression on her face. As soon as she got close to him she bursted out,
"Nani's wrong with you?! That man didn't make you pay and you didn't even thank him!"
He opened his eyes and glared at her, "I don't have to thank anyone."
That didn't make her stop talking, "You just don't appreciate what people do for you! Your selfish!" She huffed and with that, walked off to the other side of the ship to get away from him.
He closed his eyes again, not caring about a word she had said.
The ship started to move away from the docks and the were on there way to Kyoto.
~*~*~
She rested her elbows against the railing of the ship and looked out into the sea. 'How am I going to survive this trip? How long do I have travel with this man? All he tells me is where were going. He won't even tell me who he is!' She over heard some people talking and listened in, having nothing else to do.
"Have you heard?" One woman asked.
"About what?" Another asked.
"They say a hitokiri is on this ship." The first woman replied. Kaoru gasped but continued listening.
"Really? Do the ships crew know?" The other woman asked.
"Hai! They let him on, oddly enough he was with a woman."
"He could have worked for the Ishinshisi, they never make any of their members pay. Well, do you know who he is?"
The woman nodded, "hai. You'll recognize him easily, he has red hair, a crossed-shaped scar on his left cheek and a hitokiri's eyes."
Kaoru froze and suddenly stopped breathing and turned in the direction of the woman to hear her last sentence,
"it's the Battousai..."
At her words, Kaoru fainted, the last thing she saw was the two women talking.
~*~*~
Kaoru opened her eyes, her vision slightly blurred and was staring at a ceiling. She blinked again and sat up, looking around. She was in a futon, obviously in a cabin with a little candle lite in the corner, bringing what little light it could to the room. She stood up, walked over to the door and opened it. It made a slight creaking noise and she looked out into the hallway. She closed the door and started to walk down the hallway.
She took the steps up to the deck, where she had been earlier, and saw noone. Which was expected as it was night time, 'how long was I out?' She thought. A slight breeze made her hair blow in the wind's direction. Her ribbon was no longer in her hair making her hair move more freely. She stepped over to the same railing she had been leaning her elbows against and put her hands on them. Admiring the clearness of the sea.
'If those women were telling the truth...' She turned her head toward the moon, 'then I must get away from him as soon as possible. I've heard so many rumors... He's too dangerous.' She sighed.
She then heard footsteps getting louder behind her. She turned around but she saw no one, 'great. Now I'm hearing things.' She thought. An arm locked her in it's grip around her neck, and she gasped.
"What a pretty thing we have here..." The voice said, laughing. She saw a knife in his hand.
She did the only thing she could do... She screamed.
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Japanese words:
Yakuza (used in previous chapter) - Organized crime gang or the japanese mafia.
Domo sumimasen - sorry: (I'm) sorry
Honto ni arigato gozaimas - Thank you very much
Hitokiri - Manslayer/Assassin
Ja ne - cheerio
Nani - What
Iie - No
Shishou - Master
Katana - Long sword
Wakazashi - Short sword
Information on Japanese customs:
Beds:
Beds in Western-style hotels differ little from the ones you are used to at home. Japanese-style beds or futon consist of pliable mattresses or skiki-buton and thick quilts or kake-buton as well as pillows, makura. They are stored in cupboards during the day and spread out at night on the tatami-mat floor. If you stay in a ryokan (traditional inn), the maid will lay out your bed after you have had dinner in your room. But in a less expensive minshuk (guesthouse), bedding has to be laid out and put away by the guest.
-This information taken from "Japanese, A rough guide dictionary phrase book" Online information about Rough Guides can be found at their website www.roughguides.com
Words from Nanakilover/Brukaoru (Author): Thanks for the reviews, aglaia102, l3al3yanime, and chibiBattousai. Glad you all like it. My apologies chibiBattousai! Anyways, If you don't think there's enough drama or action, Soujirou will appear in the fifth chapter or sometime after and there's a huge secret to reveal! So keep reviewing so I can have more encouragement to write!
Disclaimer (so no one will sue me): Creator Nobuhiro Watsuki has all the rights to Rurouni Kenshin. If you want to sue me, try everyone else who has made a fanfic first.