Standard disclaimers apply.
Yahiko hesitated. It wasn't usual for Karou to be sleeping in the middle of the day. In fact, it was really strange. 'Maybe she's sick,' he thought. He stopped creeping up to the bed.
He knew that it wasn't nice and polite to scar people while they were sleeping, but if Karou was sick . . . . . .She would need to see Megumi and have herself examined. There might be something wrong with her that might need to be attended to immediately. If she didn't get looked at, then there was a chance that she would die, right?
With those types of thoughts backing him up, Yahiko reached the next conclusion. If he had to wake Karou up, then he might as well scar her at the same time. It would be fun to see how loud she screamed when he pulled back her covers and -
A sudden image of Karou waking up and smashing her wooden sword into his head over and over halted that thought for a moment. He silently crept around her sleeping mat and made sure that she didn't have any weapons in reach.
Then he reached foreword, fingers wiggling with anticipation at the scare he was about to give Karou. They closed around the top of the blanket. Grasping it lightly, he took a deep breath and prepared to scream.
Then, with his hold on the blankets tightening, he tugged back the blankets and stopped shock still.
Lying on his side, his lips half parted and his chest rising and falling regularly, was Enishi Yukishiro. He sifted slightly, grasping for the covers.
The scream that Yahiko was preparing to scare Karou with blasted from Yahiko's mouth. It had been the last thing he would have ever suspected. If someone had told him that Enishi was sleeping in Karou's bed he wouldn't have believed it, but here was the proof and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change the facts.
The white haired man's eyes snapped open with the scream. For a second he blinked sleepily. "You've gotten louder," he murmured, reaching his arms out to hold Kenshin and keep him quiet.
There was no one there. He shot to a sitting position, a wild expression on his face and a mad glint in his turquoise eyes.
Scanning the room, he saw the paper white expression of fear on Yahiko's face. The boy was reaching for his shinai; his hand trembling.
Enishi leapt out of the bed. "Where is he!" he snarled, reaching for his sword only to find it missing. He dropped his hand to the side and stalked towards Yahiko angrily. His entire body was tensed, like a spring, ready to pounce on Yahiko and beat him into oblivion is anything had happened to the child he was taking care of.
"Who are you talking about?" Yahiko asked. His voice was harsh and frightened. He had drawn his shinai and was holding it tightly; his knuckles white. His face, which had drained of blood the moment Enishi opened his eyes, was also a sickly white. His eyes were reflecting the mad glint in the other man's eyes.
He knew who Enishi was looking for, but he needed to stall time to try and get away. He needed to find a way to escape and warn everyone that Yukishiro was back.
He watched as the white haired man stopped stalking foreword. "I'm referring to Himura, of course," he said, his voice hot and angry.
"You'll never find him!" Yahiko snapped. He had spotted his escape route. Without waiting to hear Enishi's response, he dove out the open window and rolled to his feet before taking off at a dead sprint.
Enishi had a moment of stunned anger. He had come to the Kamiya Dojo in the hopes of leaving Kenshin and his past behind, but now. . . . . . . . now that it was time to leave. . .. . . .
He didn't want to. He didn't want to forget the trusting look on Himura's face. He didn't want to disappoint his former enemy by abandoning him. The child trusted him, needed him, and loved him.
Kenshin obviously didn't remember anything about his past, which had thrown Enishi off at first. Looking at the red haired baby had stirred something in him. It had made him want to be a good person so the baby would have a good role model.
He couldn't abandon the child now. He wasn't going to leave Tokyo without Kenshin. Realizing that made him angry. How dare the Kamiya girl hide Kenshin away from him.
"You'll never find him," Yahiko's words echoed in his head, causing him to smile grimly. "Oh, but I will," he said softly. "And your going to show me where he is, or you will die."
He leapt out the window and tore off after Yahiko. He was still exhausted, so keeping up with the boy was harder then it should have been. Still, he was gaining rapidly, so there was no reason to complain.
It was only a matter of time before he caught the spiky haired boy and made him talk.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Megumi and Karou were walking back to the dojo. The fox woman still didn't believe what Karou had told her. She was still determined that Sano was at the dojo, playing a mean trick on her. She was also determined to make the rooster pay for his joke.
Karou had given up on trying to convince her. When they got to the dojo, she was planning on showing Megumi her white haired visitor and explaining why he was there. Then, after Enishi woke up, she was going to ask him to explain what had happened to the doctor so they could all work together to get Kenshin back to his normal age.
That was what she really wanted, wasn't it? She wanted Kenshin to be his proper age so that she could marry him because she loved him, right? Looking at the child, who was chewing on his tiny fist, made her uncertain for the first time in a long time about her feelings for Kenshin.
She had loved him from the beginning, hadn't she? She had been sad when he had left in the middle of the night without saying good-bye or even telling her his name. Then he had returned just in time to save her life.
When he had come through the door, her heart had fluttered rapidly in her chest. It had pleased her that he had come back for her. She had been so happy, but at the same time, fear tightened her chest. She didn't want him to be hurt. She had tried to warn him away, but he had stayed.
He had fought, and he had won. Watching him fight caught her breath in her throat. He was so fast. Always three steps ahead of everyone else, he had stolen her heart, hadn't he?
Learning that he was the Hittokiri Battousai had saddened her. She didn't want to think that he was capable of murder. She wanted him to stay as soon as she learned who he was. She wanted to help him heal the wounds that were on his heart, burdens that were visible to the loving eyes of a woman. She wanted to nurture him, but did she love him and want to share her life with him?
Looking at Kenshin, happily kicking his legs, she started to cry.
Megumi noticed and turned to look at her. "Karou?" she questioned. The raven haired girl looked so broken. "What's wrong?"
Karou looked up, sapphire blue eyes brimming with tears. "I don't think that I want him to return to normal," she sobbed. "I've always wanted to make him happy. Not just for a moment, but for every moment. I wanted to make him forget about the Bakumatsu, and now. . . . . ." She helplessly held the baby out towards Megumi.
"And now - "
"Karou! Megumi!" Yahiko shouted. "We gotta warn Kenshin! Enishi. . . . he's at the dojo!" he gasped.
Megumi's hand flew to her mouth. "I'll go fetch the police!" she exclaimed. She turned and started running back to the main part of town.
"Come on, Karou!" Yahiko shouted, grabbing her hand and starting to run. He was pulling her along after him, but Karou didn't want to go.
She stopped following him and looked back towards the dojo, spotting Enishi racing after them.
"Wait, Megumi!" she shouted, but the doctor was some distance ahead of her and Yahiko already. Karou turned to her apprentice. "Yahiko, go get Megumi. Tell her that Enishi is my guest. Don't get the police. Do you understand?"
"No!" Yahiko exclaimed. Karou had started spouting the most ridiculous nonsense that he had ever heard. There was no reason for Enishi to be their guest.
"Enishi found Kenshin injured and brought him back to the dojo. Go get Megumi! Hurry!" she shouted and gave him a push in the retreating doctor's direction.
By that time, Enishi had arrived. He stopped, noting that she wasn't running, and noticing that she was holding Kenshin.
"Kamiya," he said tightly. He was still furious that she had double crossed him, but he couldn't force his body to move rapidly with his target, Kenshin, right in front of him.
"Yukishiro-san," Karou said politely. "Would you please go back to the dojo and wait. I didn't get a chance to explain to anyone why you are staying at the dojo."
"They probably won't believe you," Enishi said. "I'm not leaving Kenshin out of my sight though, so if you're going anywhere, I'm going with you."
"Why?" Karou asked. "I thought that you hated Kenshin." She had to understand why Enishi's feelings for the boy had changed. She had to know because her own feelings were changing too.
"I don't. I hate the Battousai," Enishi said.
"And I love the Rouroni," Karou said. "So why don't I want Kenshin to get back to his usual self?"
Enishi looked at her strangely. "I've actually decided something about that. I won't let you try and turn him back to his normal age. I want to - " he clicked his mouth shut as the other two returned with Sanosuke Sagara.
"Yahiko says that you invited Enishi to be your guest. I don't buy that for a second. Jo-chan, get over here. I can take this guy on," Sano said.
Megumi had ran into him and breathlessly explained what was happening with Enishi. Then Yahiko had arrived and relayed the message.
Sano had taken no time. He had headed straight back towards the dojo and Karou and Enishi. He had never been the type to wait for conversations before a battle. He didn't need an explanation for Enishi's presence; he was an enemy who was hell bent on destroying Kenshin after all. All he had to do was make sure that the white haired man didn't get up from the upcoming fight.
Yahiko moved Karou to the side, and then Sano attacked.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes;
Thanks for the suggestions with Yahiko. I hope it turned out satisfactory.
I've also decided that this is going to be and Enishi and Karou fic. Kenshin isn't going to return to his proper age, (sorry to everyone who wanted that. . . . )
Anyway, please review me. I love to hear everyone's feed back.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
Yahiko hesitated. It wasn't usual for Karou to be sleeping in the middle of the day. In fact, it was really strange. 'Maybe she's sick,' he thought. He stopped creeping up to the bed.
He knew that it wasn't nice and polite to scar people while they were sleeping, but if Karou was sick . . . . . .She would need to see Megumi and have herself examined. There might be something wrong with her that might need to be attended to immediately. If she didn't get looked at, then there was a chance that she would die, right?
With those types of thoughts backing him up, Yahiko reached the next conclusion. If he had to wake Karou up, then he might as well scar her at the same time. It would be fun to see how loud she screamed when he pulled back her covers and -
A sudden image of Karou waking up and smashing her wooden sword into his head over and over halted that thought for a moment. He silently crept around her sleeping mat and made sure that she didn't have any weapons in reach.
Then he reached foreword, fingers wiggling with anticipation at the scare he was about to give Karou. They closed around the top of the blanket. Grasping it lightly, he took a deep breath and prepared to scream.
Then, with his hold on the blankets tightening, he tugged back the blankets and stopped shock still.
Lying on his side, his lips half parted and his chest rising and falling regularly, was Enishi Yukishiro. He sifted slightly, grasping for the covers.
The scream that Yahiko was preparing to scare Karou with blasted from Yahiko's mouth. It had been the last thing he would have ever suspected. If someone had told him that Enishi was sleeping in Karou's bed he wouldn't have believed it, but here was the proof and there was nothing anyone could say or do to change the facts.
The white haired man's eyes snapped open with the scream. For a second he blinked sleepily. "You've gotten louder," he murmured, reaching his arms out to hold Kenshin and keep him quiet.
There was no one there. He shot to a sitting position, a wild expression on his face and a mad glint in his turquoise eyes.
Scanning the room, he saw the paper white expression of fear on Yahiko's face. The boy was reaching for his shinai; his hand trembling.
Enishi leapt out of the bed. "Where is he!" he snarled, reaching for his sword only to find it missing. He dropped his hand to the side and stalked towards Yahiko angrily. His entire body was tensed, like a spring, ready to pounce on Yahiko and beat him into oblivion is anything had happened to the child he was taking care of.
"Who are you talking about?" Yahiko asked. His voice was harsh and frightened. He had drawn his shinai and was holding it tightly; his knuckles white. His face, which had drained of blood the moment Enishi opened his eyes, was also a sickly white. His eyes were reflecting the mad glint in the other man's eyes.
He knew who Enishi was looking for, but he needed to stall time to try and get away. He needed to find a way to escape and warn everyone that Yukishiro was back.
He watched as the white haired man stopped stalking foreword. "I'm referring to Himura, of course," he said, his voice hot and angry.
"You'll never find him!" Yahiko snapped. He had spotted his escape route. Without waiting to hear Enishi's response, he dove out the open window and rolled to his feet before taking off at a dead sprint.
Enishi had a moment of stunned anger. He had come to the Kamiya Dojo in the hopes of leaving Kenshin and his past behind, but now. . . . . . . . now that it was time to leave. . .. . . .
He didn't want to. He didn't want to forget the trusting look on Himura's face. He didn't want to disappoint his former enemy by abandoning him. The child trusted him, needed him, and loved him.
Kenshin obviously didn't remember anything about his past, which had thrown Enishi off at first. Looking at the red haired baby had stirred something in him. It had made him want to be a good person so the baby would have a good role model.
He couldn't abandon the child now. He wasn't going to leave Tokyo without Kenshin. Realizing that made him angry. How dare the Kamiya girl hide Kenshin away from him.
"You'll never find him," Yahiko's words echoed in his head, causing him to smile grimly. "Oh, but I will," he said softly. "And your going to show me where he is, or you will die."
He leapt out the window and tore off after Yahiko. He was still exhausted, so keeping up with the boy was harder then it should have been. Still, he was gaining rapidly, so there was no reason to complain.
It was only a matter of time before he caught the spiky haired boy and made him talk.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Megumi and Karou were walking back to the dojo. The fox woman still didn't believe what Karou had told her. She was still determined that Sano was at the dojo, playing a mean trick on her. She was also determined to make the rooster pay for his joke.
Karou had given up on trying to convince her. When they got to the dojo, she was planning on showing Megumi her white haired visitor and explaining why he was there. Then, after Enishi woke up, she was going to ask him to explain what had happened to the doctor so they could all work together to get Kenshin back to his normal age.
That was what she really wanted, wasn't it? She wanted Kenshin to be his proper age so that she could marry him because she loved him, right? Looking at the child, who was chewing on his tiny fist, made her uncertain for the first time in a long time about her feelings for Kenshin.
She had loved him from the beginning, hadn't she? She had been sad when he had left in the middle of the night without saying good-bye or even telling her his name. Then he had returned just in time to save her life.
When he had come through the door, her heart had fluttered rapidly in her chest. It had pleased her that he had come back for her. She had been so happy, but at the same time, fear tightened her chest. She didn't want him to be hurt. She had tried to warn him away, but he had stayed.
He had fought, and he had won. Watching him fight caught her breath in her throat. He was so fast. Always three steps ahead of everyone else, he had stolen her heart, hadn't he?
Learning that he was the Hittokiri Battousai had saddened her. She didn't want to think that he was capable of murder. She wanted him to stay as soon as she learned who he was. She wanted to help him heal the wounds that were on his heart, burdens that were visible to the loving eyes of a woman. She wanted to nurture him, but did she love him and want to share her life with him?
Looking at Kenshin, happily kicking his legs, she started to cry.
Megumi noticed and turned to look at her. "Karou?" she questioned. The raven haired girl looked so broken. "What's wrong?"
Karou looked up, sapphire blue eyes brimming with tears. "I don't think that I want him to return to normal," she sobbed. "I've always wanted to make him happy. Not just for a moment, but for every moment. I wanted to make him forget about the Bakumatsu, and now. . . . . ." She helplessly held the baby out towards Megumi.
"And now - "
"Karou! Megumi!" Yahiko shouted. "We gotta warn Kenshin! Enishi. . . . he's at the dojo!" he gasped.
Megumi's hand flew to her mouth. "I'll go fetch the police!" she exclaimed. She turned and started running back to the main part of town.
"Come on, Karou!" Yahiko shouted, grabbing her hand and starting to run. He was pulling her along after him, but Karou didn't want to go.
She stopped following him and looked back towards the dojo, spotting Enishi racing after them.
"Wait, Megumi!" she shouted, but the doctor was some distance ahead of her and Yahiko already. Karou turned to her apprentice. "Yahiko, go get Megumi. Tell her that Enishi is my guest. Don't get the police. Do you understand?"
"No!" Yahiko exclaimed. Karou had started spouting the most ridiculous nonsense that he had ever heard. There was no reason for Enishi to be their guest.
"Enishi found Kenshin injured and brought him back to the dojo. Go get Megumi! Hurry!" she shouted and gave him a push in the retreating doctor's direction.
By that time, Enishi had arrived. He stopped, noting that she wasn't running, and noticing that she was holding Kenshin.
"Kamiya," he said tightly. He was still furious that she had double crossed him, but he couldn't force his body to move rapidly with his target, Kenshin, right in front of him.
"Yukishiro-san," Karou said politely. "Would you please go back to the dojo and wait. I didn't get a chance to explain to anyone why you are staying at the dojo."
"They probably won't believe you," Enishi said. "I'm not leaving Kenshin out of my sight though, so if you're going anywhere, I'm going with you."
"Why?" Karou asked. "I thought that you hated Kenshin." She had to understand why Enishi's feelings for the boy had changed. She had to know because her own feelings were changing too.
"I don't. I hate the Battousai," Enishi said.
"And I love the Rouroni," Karou said. "So why don't I want Kenshin to get back to his usual self?"
Enishi looked at her strangely. "I've actually decided something about that. I won't let you try and turn him back to his normal age. I want to - " he clicked his mouth shut as the other two returned with Sanosuke Sagara.
"Yahiko says that you invited Enishi to be your guest. I don't buy that for a second. Jo-chan, get over here. I can take this guy on," Sano said.
Megumi had ran into him and breathlessly explained what was happening with Enishi. Then Yahiko had arrived and relayed the message.
Sano had taken no time. He had headed straight back towards the dojo and Karou and Enishi. He had never been the type to wait for conversations before a battle. He didn't need an explanation for Enishi's presence; he was an enemy who was hell bent on destroying Kenshin after all. All he had to do was make sure that the white haired man didn't get up from the upcoming fight.
Yahiko moved Karou to the side, and then Sano attacked.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Author's notes;
Thanks for the suggestions with Yahiko. I hope it turned out satisfactory.
I've also decided that this is going to be and Enishi and Karou fic. Kenshin isn't going to return to his proper age, (sorry to everyone who wanted that. . . . )
Anyway, please review me. I love to hear everyone's feed back.
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
