Little Birds
A Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction by Diane Long
Chapter Two
Pale winter sunlight seeped into the bedroom casting a pure, white glow on the young boy sleeping deeply on the futon. Thick blankets were tucked snugly around his neck and his black, spiky hair twisted into sleep-induced snarls. The healing cuts on his face gave him a rather worn and battered appearance.
Wearing a white kimono with a sprinkling of pale blue squares around the hem and edges of her sleeves, Kaoru sat in seiza at his side and gently smoothed the blanket. She watched over him with a loving smile. It had been so close. She had nearly lost him because of his bravery and sacrifice. If it wasn't for him she would be the one sorely wounded or maybe even dead.
Her hand crept up past his face and flicked a few stray hairs back from his forehead with tender care. From now on she would be more open about how much she loved him. He would know he was her brother. There would be no doubt.
He would probably act like he hated it, but it didn't matter. He would know his place in her heart and never again be at risk of dying without that knowledge.
Even in Meji, life was likely to be hard and brief for outcasts like her adopted family. It had been stupid not to tell him and she regretted every wasted day that he might have doubted his position in her affections.
She gripped her hands tightly in self-recrimination as she watched Yahiko sleep. If nothing else, she would be sure to be by his side the very moment he awoke.
After a moment, she heard Kenshin's shuffling footsteps behind her. A silly conceit of his was to make extra noise so his stealth wouldn't startle her. It was irritating because it implied she was easily startled and weak, but knowing he did it out of kindness she stilled her tongue – most times. But today she was full of hope and it made her more than a little mischievous.
Quelling the urge to overact, she gasped and pretended to be surprised when he kneeled at her side carefully balancing a round tray bearing an iron tea pot and two pottery cups resting on small wooden coasters. "Oh! Kenshin! I didn't hear you," she teased.
"Oro!" he muttered in surprise, his eyes widening and his mouth forming a perfect circle before his lips slid into a smile. "I am sorry about that Ms. Kaoru." He set the tea tray down. "I will try to be more careful in the future." He set about pouring the tea, fussing over the process as if to cover his chagrin. His hair was even messier than normal and it added to his addled appearance.
She could tell he wasn't sure if she were telling the truth by the querying tilt of his head and the way he bit his lower lip. He would never call her on it, but she wondered if he was insulted or was taking it as the joke she intended. She chuckled a little bit and nudged his shoulder with hers.
He swayed way more than necessary from the impact and looked at her with twinkling eyes. "What?" he asked clulessly as he tipped over onto his back, kicking his legs weakly. She wryly noticed that he had managed to neatly set the tea pot down without spilling a single drop as he 'fell'.
Her eyes narrowed. He knew she was teasing and was teasing HER right back. With a friendly glare she reached out and gave his arm a healthy pinch.
"Ow!" he moaned, still playing it up as he rolled on the floor. "You don't know your own strength Ms. Kaoru!"
"Can't you guys keep it down?" complained a voice that was a shadow of Yahiko's usual nasal whine.
"Little Yahiko!" Kaoru exclaimed in delight, abandoning Kenshin and bending down to kiss Yahiko's cheek.
"Oh, yuck!" the youngster complained. "And don't call me little!"
"I don't care!" Kaoru declared holding his face in her hands. "I'm so happy you are alright." Her voice cracked at the end of her words and big tears clung to the tips of her eyelashes.
Realization flashed across Yahiko's face, and under the blankest his hands traced the wound on his chest. "Kaoru, are you okay too? Did you get those guys?" he asked in a rush.
Tears falling freely, Kaoru removed her hands from him and placed them in her lap. "Yes, I am fine. Thanks to you, little brother."
Yahiko's face heated with two bright spots glowing on his cheeks.
"You saved Ms. Kaoru from terribly injury, that you did," Kenshin said gravely. "You have used your sword to protect, and when that wasn't enough you used your own body." He laid a fatherly hand over Yahiko's shoulder being careful not to press too hard on the wounds. "I am very proud of you, Yahiko."
"We love you," Kaoru added anxious to get the words out. "We love you so much."
Yahiko's blush flamed over his entire face and his jaw locked into an expression that was caught between happiness and abject horror.
Laying her hand over Kenshin's, Kaoru's loving smile turned sharp and wicked. "Therefore I can't allow your technique to remain so weak. Those guys shouldn't have been able to touch you!" she trumpeted with a mock scowl on her face.
Yahiko's expression settled on outrage, a safe and comfortable place to be with his adopted big-sister-mother. "You ungrateful, old, HAG!" he sputtered.
Kaoru nodded in satisfaction catching Kenshin's eye and giving a merry wink. "As soon as your better that's going to cost you…."
"...100 swings," Kaoru mumbled as she woke to stare up at a strange ceiling. She looked at it a moment, uncertain where she was. Where was Yahiko? Why was she in bed? She just lay there blinking as the last vestiges of sleep left her mind.
The room was too dark to be hers. There were no windows and no doors to the engawa. She squinted through the dimness trying to work out her location, her dream fast slipping away from her.
She shifted in her soft pallet and winced at the sharp pain in her arm and down her side. Ouch. That must have been some practice with Yahiko yesterday if her muscles were this sore. As she adjusted her position trying to get more comfortable, her eyes alighted on a small chest with burnished brass fittings at the corners and lacquered knobs on the drawers. Now, that she recognized. She was in Kenshin's room. She burrowed her face into the blankets and inhaled deeply, taking in his spicy scent that lingered there. A slow blush rose to her cheeks as she pondered just why she might be in his bed. Was that why she was so sore? Goodness!
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut with giddy embarrassment at the very THOUGHT, the sound of heavy scrubbing caught her ears. What was that? She opened her eyes and listened carefully as the scrubbing paused and was replaced by the wet sound of water being poured over a hard surface. There was a dull rattle of wooden objects clacking together and then the scrubbing sound resumed.
Kenshin wouldn't be up cleaning the floors the morning after, now would he? Even he wouldn't be that unromantic. Her tense shoulders relaxed and she felt more relieved than disappointed. So why was she in his room? Was he protecting her from some mess, she joked to herself.
Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. Was he hiding a mess, maybe? Wincing, she thought of all of the trouble her male houseguests could get into. And, of course, the other culprits would leave Kenshin to clean it all up. It would be just like them. She pushed the covers back and sat up, intending to go find out what was going on.
She grimaced as the pain in her arm and torso blossomed into red fire that left her eyes dazzled. As her vision cleared she realized she was wearing one of Kenshin's shabbier, faded, red dogi jackets instead of her typical sleeping yukata. Feeling true worry for the first time that morning, she slid the gi open to see extensive bandages covering the areas that hurt so much. The wrappings were clean and tight, but the pain had been so intense she had expected to seem the spotted with red.
Closing the gi, she gingerly pushed herself out of her warm nest of blankets and rose to stand on shaky legs despite how much it hurt to move. Something very bad had happened. Why couldn't she remember anything about last night? She barley cared to notice the gi was long enough to cover her to her knees. That was good enough for now.
Three hesitant steps had her opening the sliding doors and another had her out in the hall. She squinted against the brighter light of the house and made her way towards the sound of scrubbing. Four more steps brought her to the corner and as she turned it she saw Kenshin on his knees, half of him hidden with his socked feet sticking out of her room.
"Stop," his voice commanded, using a rare, firm tone. "Do not come in here."
She slid a step closer, her hands tracing along the wall for support. "Kenshin?" She eyed the buckets of pink, soapy, water in the hall as she smelled the sharp scent of borax.
"Please," he said, more softly this time. "Don't look." He backed out of the room on all fours and pushed himself into a low squat as he gazed at her with deep, sorrowful eyes. He was wearing the dark hakama and gi he reserved for use when he tackled the dirtiest chores. His hair was up in a higher tail then usual, another sign he had been engaged in heavy duty cleaning.
"Why not?" she whispered, fear coiling in her belly like a tight, cold spring.
"Don't you know?" He sounded lost. He searched her gaze with his own, then awkwardly looked away.
She clutched at her side which was now throbbing angrily at her. His voice scared her. He didn't sound like himself at all. She slid forward, edging her fingers around the frame of her door. What didn't he want her to see? Why wouldn't he look at her?
"Don't," he breathed as she slowly looked through the doorway.
At first, she didn't see what had him so upset. Her walls gleamed with cleanliness. It was odd that the shoji were missing several panels, but that wasn't such a big deal. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him in exasperation.
She was about to rebuke him for moving her to his room so he could get an early start on next year's spring cleaning when he looked back up at her and she got caught in his eyes. Their hard, yet frightened gleam made her shiver.
She tilted her head at him, trying to understand.
"I think the tatami will need replacing," he said weakly, slowly rising to stand.
She looked to the floor and observed that several squares of bamboo matting were ripped out and missing while the remaining ones were soaked with water. Looking to Kenshin, she saw that he gripped a pink-tinged scrub brush so hard his hand was shaking. Her eyes flicked back to the too-clean walls and then the missing rice paper on the screens. She looked down at her own hands, and the dark substance crusted behind her fingernails.
It came back to her all at once: The attack and Yahiko's sacrifice and her own actions.
She covered her face, trying to block the visions in her mind by grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her already weak knees gave way and she fell forward into the damp chest of her best friend. "No." The denial came out quiet and weak, so she shouted it louder. "No!!"
This couldn't be real. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close even as her mind tilted off its axis and she saw spots dancing behind her closed eyes.
"I wish you hadn't looked," Kenshin whispered into her hair. "I wanted to erase it for you," he murmured, rubbing soothing hands over her back.
Kaoru pulled in a choppy breath, the fumes from the cleaning agents stinging her nose. Her dream came back to her with startling clarity.
"My little… Is he…."
"Don't ask," Kenshin pleaded in a low, hitching voice.
"Yahiko?" she asked into his neck, the torment in her words begging for a happy lie.
Kenshin's arms contracted and he held her even more tightly. "I- well- he's gone, Miss Kaoru."
She sucked in a sharp breath and let it out in a huff. No! That dream had been so real. She had to tell Yahiko how much she loved him. He had to be okay. He had to be! "Are you certain?" she quavered.
"Yes." The heavy grief in Kenshin's voice should have convinced her, but she wanted a different answer so she refused to see.
"But… Megumi!" she wailed, leaning back and twisting her hands in the lapels of his gi. "Megumi can work miracles! Go get her!" She demanded, giving him a vicious shake.
Kenshin captured her arms and restrained her, the tears rimming his purple gaze confirming the reality of the situation. "Please, stop."
"I will not stop! I will go get Megumi myself and we will fix this." She twisted against his hold, but he didn't budge.
"Miss Kaoru, please," he pleaded gruffly. "It is impossible."
"Megumi can do it!" she raged, fighting to free her arms and stomping on his feet. "Let me go!"
Kenshin swore as she smashed his toes and hooked her legs with one of his own so they fell to the floor in a controlled tumble, his body under hers to take the impact. "Even Miss Megumi cannot undo death," he said with necessary coldness. "I'm so sorry. Yahiko is dead, my Kaoru."
To be continued!
AN: Well! It is just fine and dandy to be writing fan fiction again after my several month hiatus. I'm sorry my fellow Tenchi Muyo! Fans, but I can't get inspired by those characters anymore. I did see the first real episode of the third Tenchi OVA and I swear it could have been from one of my fan fictions. I was very pleased. To the Kenshin fans, thanks for the reviews. They gave me the confidence I needed to proceed with this story. It is always tough to get started with a new set of characters. I love reviews, they inspire me and make me write faster. Thanks sooooo much! Smooch!
A Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction by Diane Long
Chapter Two
Pale winter sunlight seeped into the bedroom casting a pure, white glow on the young boy sleeping deeply on the futon. Thick blankets were tucked snugly around his neck and his black, spiky hair twisted into sleep-induced snarls. The healing cuts on his face gave him a rather worn and battered appearance.
Wearing a white kimono with a sprinkling of pale blue squares around the hem and edges of her sleeves, Kaoru sat in seiza at his side and gently smoothed the blanket. She watched over him with a loving smile. It had been so close. She had nearly lost him because of his bravery and sacrifice. If it wasn't for him she would be the one sorely wounded or maybe even dead.
Her hand crept up past his face and flicked a few stray hairs back from his forehead with tender care. From now on she would be more open about how much she loved him. He would know he was her brother. There would be no doubt.
He would probably act like he hated it, but it didn't matter. He would know his place in her heart and never again be at risk of dying without that knowledge.
Even in Meji, life was likely to be hard and brief for outcasts like her adopted family. It had been stupid not to tell him and she regretted every wasted day that he might have doubted his position in her affections.
She gripped her hands tightly in self-recrimination as she watched Yahiko sleep. If nothing else, she would be sure to be by his side the very moment he awoke.
After a moment, she heard Kenshin's shuffling footsteps behind her. A silly conceit of his was to make extra noise so his stealth wouldn't startle her. It was irritating because it implied she was easily startled and weak, but knowing he did it out of kindness she stilled her tongue – most times. But today she was full of hope and it made her more than a little mischievous.
Quelling the urge to overact, she gasped and pretended to be surprised when he kneeled at her side carefully balancing a round tray bearing an iron tea pot and two pottery cups resting on small wooden coasters. "Oh! Kenshin! I didn't hear you," she teased.
"Oro!" he muttered in surprise, his eyes widening and his mouth forming a perfect circle before his lips slid into a smile. "I am sorry about that Ms. Kaoru." He set the tea tray down. "I will try to be more careful in the future." He set about pouring the tea, fussing over the process as if to cover his chagrin. His hair was even messier than normal and it added to his addled appearance.
She could tell he wasn't sure if she were telling the truth by the querying tilt of his head and the way he bit his lower lip. He would never call her on it, but she wondered if he was insulted or was taking it as the joke she intended. She chuckled a little bit and nudged his shoulder with hers.
He swayed way more than necessary from the impact and looked at her with twinkling eyes. "What?" he asked clulessly as he tipped over onto his back, kicking his legs weakly. She wryly noticed that he had managed to neatly set the tea pot down without spilling a single drop as he 'fell'.
Her eyes narrowed. He knew she was teasing and was teasing HER right back. With a friendly glare she reached out and gave his arm a healthy pinch.
"Ow!" he moaned, still playing it up as he rolled on the floor. "You don't know your own strength Ms. Kaoru!"
"Can't you guys keep it down?" complained a voice that was a shadow of Yahiko's usual nasal whine.
"Little Yahiko!" Kaoru exclaimed in delight, abandoning Kenshin and bending down to kiss Yahiko's cheek.
"Oh, yuck!" the youngster complained. "And don't call me little!"
"I don't care!" Kaoru declared holding his face in her hands. "I'm so happy you are alright." Her voice cracked at the end of her words and big tears clung to the tips of her eyelashes.
Realization flashed across Yahiko's face, and under the blankest his hands traced the wound on his chest. "Kaoru, are you okay too? Did you get those guys?" he asked in a rush.
Tears falling freely, Kaoru removed her hands from him and placed them in her lap. "Yes, I am fine. Thanks to you, little brother."
Yahiko's face heated with two bright spots glowing on his cheeks.
"You saved Ms. Kaoru from terribly injury, that you did," Kenshin said gravely. "You have used your sword to protect, and when that wasn't enough you used your own body." He laid a fatherly hand over Yahiko's shoulder being careful not to press too hard on the wounds. "I am very proud of you, Yahiko."
"We love you," Kaoru added anxious to get the words out. "We love you so much."
Yahiko's blush flamed over his entire face and his jaw locked into an expression that was caught between happiness and abject horror.
Laying her hand over Kenshin's, Kaoru's loving smile turned sharp and wicked. "Therefore I can't allow your technique to remain so weak. Those guys shouldn't have been able to touch you!" she trumpeted with a mock scowl on her face.
Yahiko's expression settled on outrage, a safe and comfortable place to be with his adopted big-sister-mother. "You ungrateful, old, HAG!" he sputtered.
Kaoru nodded in satisfaction catching Kenshin's eye and giving a merry wink. "As soon as your better that's going to cost you…."
"...100 swings," Kaoru mumbled as she woke to stare up at a strange ceiling. She looked at it a moment, uncertain where she was. Where was Yahiko? Why was she in bed? She just lay there blinking as the last vestiges of sleep left her mind.
The room was too dark to be hers. There were no windows and no doors to the engawa. She squinted through the dimness trying to work out her location, her dream fast slipping away from her.
She shifted in her soft pallet and winced at the sharp pain in her arm and down her side. Ouch. That must have been some practice with Yahiko yesterday if her muscles were this sore. As she adjusted her position trying to get more comfortable, her eyes alighted on a small chest with burnished brass fittings at the corners and lacquered knobs on the drawers. Now, that she recognized. She was in Kenshin's room. She burrowed her face into the blankets and inhaled deeply, taking in his spicy scent that lingered there. A slow blush rose to her cheeks as she pondered just why she might be in his bed. Was that why she was so sore? Goodness!
Just as she squeezed her eyes shut with giddy embarrassment at the very THOUGHT, the sound of heavy scrubbing caught her ears. What was that? She opened her eyes and listened carefully as the scrubbing paused and was replaced by the wet sound of water being poured over a hard surface. There was a dull rattle of wooden objects clacking together and then the scrubbing sound resumed.
Kenshin wouldn't be up cleaning the floors the morning after, now would he? Even he wouldn't be that unromantic. Her tense shoulders relaxed and she felt more relieved than disappointed. So why was she in his room? Was he protecting her from some mess, she joked to herself.
Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. Was he hiding a mess, maybe? Wincing, she thought of all of the trouble her male houseguests could get into. And, of course, the other culprits would leave Kenshin to clean it all up. It would be just like them. She pushed the covers back and sat up, intending to go find out what was going on.
She grimaced as the pain in her arm and torso blossomed into red fire that left her eyes dazzled. As her vision cleared she realized she was wearing one of Kenshin's shabbier, faded, red dogi jackets instead of her typical sleeping yukata. Feeling true worry for the first time that morning, she slid the gi open to see extensive bandages covering the areas that hurt so much. The wrappings were clean and tight, but the pain had been so intense she had expected to seem the spotted with red.
Closing the gi, she gingerly pushed herself out of her warm nest of blankets and rose to stand on shaky legs despite how much it hurt to move. Something very bad had happened. Why couldn't she remember anything about last night? She barley cared to notice the gi was long enough to cover her to her knees. That was good enough for now.
Three hesitant steps had her opening the sliding doors and another had her out in the hall. She squinted against the brighter light of the house and made her way towards the sound of scrubbing. Four more steps brought her to the corner and as she turned it she saw Kenshin on his knees, half of him hidden with his socked feet sticking out of her room.
"Stop," his voice commanded, using a rare, firm tone. "Do not come in here."
She slid a step closer, her hands tracing along the wall for support. "Kenshin?" She eyed the buckets of pink, soapy, water in the hall as she smelled the sharp scent of borax.
"Please," he said, more softly this time. "Don't look." He backed out of the room on all fours and pushed himself into a low squat as he gazed at her with deep, sorrowful eyes. He was wearing the dark hakama and gi he reserved for use when he tackled the dirtiest chores. His hair was up in a higher tail then usual, another sign he had been engaged in heavy duty cleaning.
"Why not?" she whispered, fear coiling in her belly like a tight, cold spring.
"Don't you know?" He sounded lost. He searched her gaze with his own, then awkwardly looked away.
She clutched at her side which was now throbbing angrily at her. His voice scared her. He didn't sound like himself at all. She slid forward, edging her fingers around the frame of her door. What didn't he want her to see? Why wouldn't he look at her?
"Don't," he breathed as she slowly looked through the doorway.
At first, she didn't see what had him so upset. Her walls gleamed with cleanliness. It was odd that the shoji were missing several panels, but that wasn't such a big deal. She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him in exasperation.
She was about to rebuke him for moving her to his room so he could get an early start on next year's spring cleaning when he looked back up at her and she got caught in his eyes. Their hard, yet frightened gleam made her shiver.
She tilted her head at him, trying to understand.
"I think the tatami will need replacing," he said weakly, slowly rising to stand.
She looked to the floor and observed that several squares of bamboo matting were ripped out and missing while the remaining ones were soaked with water. Looking to Kenshin, she saw that he gripped a pink-tinged scrub brush so hard his hand was shaking. Her eyes flicked back to the too-clean walls and then the missing rice paper on the screens. She looked down at her own hands, and the dark substance crusted behind her fingernails.
It came back to her all at once: The attack and Yahiko's sacrifice and her own actions.
She covered her face, trying to block the visions in her mind by grinding the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her already weak knees gave way and she fell forward into the damp chest of her best friend. "No." The denial came out quiet and weak, so she shouted it louder. "No!!"
This couldn't be real. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close even as her mind tilted off its axis and she saw spots dancing behind her closed eyes.
"I wish you hadn't looked," Kenshin whispered into her hair. "I wanted to erase it for you," he murmured, rubbing soothing hands over her back.
Kaoru pulled in a choppy breath, the fumes from the cleaning agents stinging her nose. Her dream came back to her with startling clarity.
"My little… Is he…."
"Don't ask," Kenshin pleaded in a low, hitching voice.
"Yahiko?" she asked into his neck, the torment in her words begging for a happy lie.
Kenshin's arms contracted and he held her even more tightly. "I- well- he's gone, Miss Kaoru."
She sucked in a sharp breath and let it out in a huff. No! That dream had been so real. She had to tell Yahiko how much she loved him. He had to be okay. He had to be! "Are you certain?" she quavered.
"Yes." The heavy grief in Kenshin's voice should have convinced her, but she wanted a different answer so she refused to see.
"But… Megumi!" she wailed, leaning back and twisting her hands in the lapels of his gi. "Megumi can work miracles! Go get her!" She demanded, giving him a vicious shake.
Kenshin captured her arms and restrained her, the tears rimming his purple gaze confirming the reality of the situation. "Please, stop."
"I will not stop! I will go get Megumi myself and we will fix this." She twisted against his hold, but he didn't budge.
"Miss Kaoru, please," he pleaded gruffly. "It is impossible."
"Megumi can do it!" she raged, fighting to free her arms and stomping on his feet. "Let me go!"
Kenshin swore as she smashed his toes and hooked her legs with one of his own so they fell to the floor in a controlled tumble, his body under hers to take the impact. "Even Miss Megumi cannot undo death," he said with necessary coldness. "I'm so sorry. Yahiko is dead, my Kaoru."
To be continued!
AN: Well! It is just fine and dandy to be writing fan fiction again after my several month hiatus. I'm sorry my fellow Tenchi Muyo! Fans, but I can't get inspired by those characters anymore. I did see the first real episode of the third Tenchi OVA and I swear it could have been from one of my fan fictions. I was very pleased. To the Kenshin fans, thanks for the reviews. They gave me the confidence I needed to proceed with this story. It is always tough to get started with a new set of characters. I love reviews, they inspire me and make me write faster. Thanks sooooo much! Smooch!
