Sentiments of gip-k: -Ah, you people must be wondering what this fanfiction is about. (Smirks) You'll not find out unless you read it. I dislike spoiling my stories one bit. I thrive on the element of surprise. I will give you one hint- something bad is going to happen.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. It belongs to Watsuki Nobuhiro. He is wonderfully gifted and talented, for he can both draw and write exceptionally. If you see him, give him my thanks. ;)
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---Prologue---
"YAHIKO! Watch out!" Kaoru cried. A wave nausea poured over her, and her vision blurred for a second in the same moment that her knees threatened to give way and land her in the soft, dry dirt. Kaoru's tongue suddenly became numb, and she could hardly croak her apprentice's name before being blinded by tears. Though they threatened to burst forth out of her as sure as her scream, sheer shock stopped her from doing either. How could this be happening?
***FLASHBACK***
"Are you ready, Kenshin?" Kaoru asked, peeking into one of the many small rooms in her massive dojo.
That red-haired head flipped around, revealing the face of Kenshin Himura, her supreme source all glee and comfort. Kenshin gave her his usual small smile- the smile that caused a fountain of joy to rise up in her. His lavender eyes brightened slightly at the sight of his hostess, Kaoru Kamiya, adjutant master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, who was now standing in doorway of his room.
"Yes, Miss Kaoru," he said, the smile growing just a bit more in volume.
Kaoru smiled back at him, her navy blue eyes shining upon his smile. Kenshin had just finished tying up a bundle of supplies, which were wrapped neatly in a brownish cloth.
"Good," Kaoru replied. "We should try to head out before it gets to late."
It seemed like dawn had only been a few moments before, yet the sun was already casting its bright golden rays down on them.
Kaoru had long-awaited this day- a day in which she could get away from her hectic life and simply enjoy the great outdoors. She also had come to the realization long before that Yahiko and Sanosuke were spending far too much time around the house, and they needed to get out.
As if her thoughts had been a summons, her naughty little student, Yahiko Myoujin appeared from around the corner. He was still awfully grumpy at how early he'd been dragged out of bed. He wore a scowl on his childish face, and his red-brown eyes showed signs of contempt as he looked at her. His shinai was tied against his back, but considering the expression he was wearing, it seemed that his hands itched to pull it out of its sheath and hit her with it.
"Don't look at me like that," Kaoru said to her young apprentice.
His scowl simply deepened.
"If you hadn't woken me up at three o' clock this morning, maybe I wouldn't look like this!" Yahiko said snappishly. "And are we even going anywhere right now? NO. We are just sitting around, while you smile at Kenshin and twiddle your fingers like the old hag that you are!"
"Oh stop bickering, Yahiko," Kaoru said, slightly annoyed at Yahiko's rude appearance. "We all need this camping trip, and I deserve it, so you're going even if you don't want to."
"Well I don't!" Yahiko spat.
"Yes you do!" Kaoru retorted. "Yesterday you said you couldn't wait, remember?"
"Well I didn't know you were going to f***ing wake me up at THREE in the morning!" Yahiko yelled back.
"You know, you really need to learn some manners," Kaoru replied, getting really annoyed now.
Kenshin just looked at them sheepishly. He knew a storm was coming, but there was probably little he could do about it without it ending in Kaoru beating him on the head repeatedly. He shook a little from the thought. No, getting Kaoru angry was a bad idea.
Kaoru and Yahiko were in an intense argument after a few moments later, and Kenshin looked around his small room, hoping the fight wouldn't be carried in there.
Then, to add to things, Sano appeared from out of his room. The tall walked over to the two people and pulled them up by the scruffs of their necks, frowning as they kicked and flailed violently in his arms.
"Okay, what's going on this time?" Sano asked. His frown twisted into an amused smirk as Kaoru struggled to say, her anger causing her to stutter. He shot Kenshin an even more amused grin, and Kenshin just smiled back. It'd be quite a while before they went on the trip to the mountains.
Finally, after Kaoru had cooked up a quick breakfast, the group headed out. They had to journey through Tokyo, first, though.
The city was teeming with activity. People walked here and there, peasants and police officers alike. Vendors begged for attention, screaming at the top of their lungs the names of their products, and how their prices were the best that one could ever find. Some even tried to stop women who were going on their way, clutching arms and advertising many colored cloth, some of which were drab and moth eaten, while others were smooth and vividly colored.
Kaoru, Sano, Kenshin, and Yahiko made their way through the crowds, along with their supplies for their journey. Kaoru ignored the noise and people swirling around her, determined to make it to a less crowded part of the city.
Finally, the troupe made it out to less condensed areas, and Kaoru hoped that that was the end of their bother. It was a vain hope.
Just when Kaoru thought things were going well, she heard a voice behind her.
"Oh, Sir Ken!"
Kaoru thought she felt her heart flutter for a second there, but that shock and surprise soon turned into disgust. She turned to the source of the sound.
There stood a woman, perhaps a trifle taller than Kaoru. She dressed elegantly in a blue kimono that had lots more cloth than Kaoru's did. Mischief was as evident in her darkish eyes as it was on her red-painted lips. She smiled at them, having eyes only for Kenshin- or rather "Sir Ken" in her eyes.
She walked smoothly between Kenshin and Kaoru, seemingly not noticing the ugly scowl that had disfigured the younger woman's face.
"You were not actually thinking about leaving without any medicine, were you?" she asked in a syrupy voice.
Kaoru growled. They did not have time for all of this nonsense. Kaoru felt like smacking the woman, who was standing indecently close to a now sheepish looking Kenshin.
"Uh, no, Miss Megumi," Kenshin said quickly. He put up his hands defensively, a shy and declining smile on his face.
Megumi slid an arm around Kenshin's shoulder, and whispered into his ear.
"You weren't actually thinking about leaving without me, were you?" she said, breathing hot air against Kenshin's face.
The samurai's face turned red as an apple.
"Uh, no, I mean, um-"
Kaoru felt close to exploding. Her hands clenched into fists. She was just about to grab a handful of Megumi's long black hair when she was tugged back violently by the color. She let out a choked noise. She glared up at the person who'd done this to her.
"Sano, let me go!" she said, fuming and punching at her captor.
Megumi's eyes widened slightly in mock-surprise, and she took her arm off from around Kenshin.
"Oh, Sir Ken!" she cried. "I hope this young lady has not been harming you!" Then Megumi smirked. She turned back to Kenshin, continuing her dramatic act. "Don't mind that little raccoon. You must no she is but a sweaty little girl, ignorant of the ways of a true… woman." She said, her smirk widening. "Why, she even forgot to pack medicine for our handsome samurai!" Megumi said, once again snaking her arms around Kenshin. "Why, only Kami knows what could've happened on the trip, and-"
"SHUTUP!" Kaoru growled, still struggling with Sano. "LETMEGO!" Kaoru began clawing at Sano's hand with her fingernails, and it seemed that at any moment she might start gnawing on it.
Megumi ignored Kaoru's behavior and began speaking more syrupy words to Kenshin, many of which were quite indecent.
"Um, Sano?" Yahiko asked uncertainly. "Kaoru is-"
Sanosuke looked down and noticed that Kaoru was biting his hand.
"YOUCH!" he cried, immediately pulling away. Kaoru took this opportunity to escape, and immediately began pounding Kenshin on the head with her white knuckled fists.
"OH!" Megumi said, stepping back. "Look at this horrible display of violence! You must not stay in the home of this terrible creature!"
"KENSHIN! HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU LET HER- LET HER- LET HER DO THAT! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"
All the while all of the blows were forming disturbingly large boils on Kenshin's head, and he himself was looking… swirly-eyed?
"Hey, ease up, Kaoru!" Yahiko said, pulling the now ravaging woman away. She was too engrossed in glaring at Kenshin to notice. She was also breathing extremely hard.
Well, it turned out that Megumi had gotten to go after all. She even had her medical kit with her, from which she retrieved some bandages to bandage up Kenshin had, which had some… injuries on it. After that, the trip continued. Except for one other interruption. However, on this occasion, it was a good one.
"Hey, wait up!"
Yahiko was the first to flip around at the sound of that voice. Kaoru was a bit slower, and her mood actually improved a little when she saw the owner thereof.
A young girl rushed toward them, her brown bangs bouncing up and down as she did. She looked eager to see them, and was a little breathless when she finally caught up with them.
The girl was Tsubame. Her face was like a doll's, those big, innocent blue eyes of hers seemingly taking up most of the space in it. Her thickly brown hair was too short to wear pulled up, seeing it was barely chin-length, so she wore it downward. She greeted them all, giving them her usual shy smile.
Yahiko seemed to stiffen up a bit at the sight of her, even more so when her eyes fell on him.
"Good morning, Little Yahiko!" Tsubame said cheerfully.
Yahiko fumed.
"PLEASE DON'T CALL ME THAT," he replied.
Kaoru smiled. Yahiko hated it when Tsubame called him "little", and she had quite a habit of doing so. She put a hand to her mouth in shock.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she replied. Then she looked up at Kaoru.
"Is it all right if I come with you?" Tsubame asked shyly. "Tae said I could- at the last moment, so I barely had time to grab up some of my clothes. That's why I am still wearing my waitress uniform."
Kaoru smiled.
"We'd be glad to let you come," she said cheerfully.
Tsubame's face brightened significantly, almost like the sun shining at its fullest capacity.
"Oh, thank you!" she said.
"Your welcome," Kaoru replied. "We'd be happy to let you join us."
Tsubame nodded. They had an extra cloth for her to wrap her things in, and she did so. Kaoru noticed Yahiko watching with interest as she tied the perfect bow. He blushed as if some remembrance of something had suddenly come to him. Kaoru smiled. She had lots to tease him about. But that could most assuredly come later.
The group continued walking, and Kaoru noticed the terrain beginning to change. It seemed that now they were walking on an incline, and the road was a lot rockier and grasser than in other areas. They walked alongside a river as they continued upward, and it amazed Kaoru how the river could flow in that direction.
Finally, they reached an old rickety bridge. Right beside it the river toppled downward as a beautiful waterfall. Beneath the bridge was rocky and wet, and not too far shy of a twenty feet drop. Kaoru's stomach twisted. Now she didn't mind heights, but if there were rocks and water down there, it was definitely not her favorite place. If she could be injured at all-
Kaoru let out a squeak when she felt someone pushing her unto the bridge. She clutched the scratchy feeling ropes that held it up, waves of nausea coming over her as it shook under her feet.
"Awl, come on little missy," Sano said. "It's not that bad."
Kaoru squeezed her eyes shut. It was not that bad, was it? Kaoru let out another squeak as Yahiko hurried by her roughly, followed closely by Tsubame.
"I think you need another push," Sanosuke said, amused.
Kaoru paled. She quickly took another step. Then after hearing another amusing, yet threatening comment from Sanosuke, she ran across. She tripped right at the end of the bridge, and fell right into the arms of Megumi.
Megumi helped her on her feet, a smug look on her face. Kaoru brushed herself off quite arrogantly, not even giving the woman thanks for helping her. She wouldn't accept any mockery.
Kaoru was relieved when Sanosuke and Kenshin finally came across the bridge. Then she wouldn't have to look at it again- well, not for some time.
The group continued their hike upwards. Sanosuke had to help Megumi climb atop some of the rocks jutting out of the hills. Megumi cursed profusely, stating something about "I should've brought some good slippers". It was now Kaoru's turn to look smug.
Finally, the group reached a decent spot. Trees with gnarled roots grew out of the ground here and there, as did big bushes and unruly grass. Boulders were everywhere. There was a tall hill nearby, and it was nearly as rocky as a mountain.
The terrain was wild, but in a way it was pleasant. The air was sweet smelling and crisp, and butterflies often fluttered from out of the greenish bushes. Yes, it was quite pleasant.
Kaoru sat down on the ground. Kenshin followed her example, and she gave him a warm smile, which he returned graciously. Megumi gratefully took a seat on the grass, rubbing her feet, and Sanosuke sat atop one of the boulders. Finally, Tsubame sat down, not too far away from Yahiko. All was quiet, and the members of the group were glad for a rest.
Suddenly, the serenity of the scene was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Kaoru turned to this sound, and Yahiko actually stood up.
Soon a young boy appeared from the bottom of the hill. He stopped when he saw them, blinking his piercing liquid green eyes.
He had quite an odd appearance. Scratches were etched into his handsome face, and his longish, unruly blond hair was kept back away from his forehead by a red bandana that resembled Sanosuke's. He wore no shirt, and his well toned muscles showed. He did not wear any shoes either, only a pair of gray pants, that most likely had not been so dusty.
"Hello," Kaoru said, standing up. Kenshin did the same. She gave the boy a small smile. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," the boy said simply. He scanned each one of them abruptly. "What are all of you guys doing here?"
"We were going to ask you the same thing," Yahiko replied seriously.
The boy looked at Yahiko.
"I'm here because I come here all the time," he said. "I didn't expect to see all of you guys here. I pretty much thought this was just a secret place."
The boy's liquid green eyes fell on Tsubame, who blushed and looked away. Yahiko's red brown eyes glinted like daggers. Kaoru sensed a little envy.
"Do you have a name, or what?" Yahiko asked.
The boy looked back to Yahiko.
"I'm Raekan," he replied. "What's your name?"
"Yahiko Myoujin, son of-"
Raekan turned his attention back to Tsubame.
"What's your name?" he asked, giving a small smile no one knew he had.
Tsubame smiled shyly.
"Tsu- Tsubame," she stammered.
After everyone was fully introduced, Raekan stated that he was going to go climb one of the hills. Yahiko watched him with utter contempt. Kaoru felt like laughing.
"I believe that Yahiko is envious of Raekan, that he is," Kenshin replied, an amused look in his violet eyes.
Kaoru nodded.
"I know," she said as she watched the muscular boy climb the slopes.
"Raekan is older than him, that he is," Kenshin replied.
"And taller," Sano said, winking. "He's stronger, too. And isn't as much of a jerk."
Yahiko was too engrossed in glaring at Raekan that he didn't hear that comment, luckily.
Tsubame approached the slope where Raekan was climbing. The boy shot a grin down at her, most likely glad that he now had someone to show off to, that person being a pretty girl.
Yahiko growled, noticing this. He approached the mountain as well, just not as closely. He probably thought he'd have to protect Tsubame, or something. Kaoru, Sanosuke, and Kenshin looked at each other, and then started laughing. Megumi joined in.
"Children, children," Megumi said in an amused voice. "It's so cute to see the puppy love they have between themselves."
Kaoru nodded. Then they all started laughing again. Finally, Kaoru turned back to looking at the slope. Her eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. A boulder that Raekan had just used as a foothold to push himself up farther had shaken a little. Even from so far Kaoru could see that it was loosening out from its lodge in the hill. Her heart lurched. Tsubame was right underneath it, and she seemed not to notice that it was loosening. Kaoru thought she would scream when it came out a significant bit. In a few moments it would fall.
Yahiko noticed this, and just as the boulder was falling out rushed over, and pushed Tsubame out of the way. However, he was the new target. Kaoru then let out a cry at the top of her lungs…
***END FLASHBACK***
So, now, as Kaoru looked on, she was frozen with the shock of seeing her apprentice pinned underneath a large gray boulder. Kaoru's vision blurred temporarily as Sanosuke rushed past her. She watched speechlessly as her tall friend struggled to push the boulder off of Yahiko- Yahiko. Raekan looked down from atop of the mountain, and from his body language he too was shocked, and obviously remorseful. Megumi rushed over to Yahiko as well. Only Kenshin and Kaoru were left behind, finally.
Sanosuke seemed to be having some trouble getting the boulder off of Yahiko. Megumi was screaming at him to be careful. She reached for a stick. Tsubame was still sitting on the ground where Yahiko had pushed her. She must be in shock, too.
Something suddenly clicked in Kaoru's brain. Why was she sitting here, staring, when Yahiko was in trouble? Kaoru suddenly began running forward, faster than she ever had in her entire life. Kenshin was not too far behind her.
"Yahiko!" Kaoru cried. She finally stopped, and knelt down beside the child who had become so dear to her heart. She looked up at Sano, whose face showed signs of franticness and anxiety.
"Hey, Kenshin, can't you gimme a hand?" Sano asked irritably. "Can't you like just do the Ryu Sui Sen on this rock or something like that-"
Kenshin shook his head. His lavender eyes were troubled.
"No, it isn't that easy, I sat," he said in a grim voice. "I could further his injuries."
"Be careful, damn you!" Megumi cried, worry evident in her voice. Tsubame whispered Yahiko's name over and over, the tears running down her pale cheeks.
Kaoru heard their voices as a distant rumble.
"Hold on Yahiko," she whispered. "Please hold on. You're my only student- my favorite student. Oh, I'll do anything for you if you just live!"
Kaoru almost expected his eyes to pop open the moment she said that, but they didn't. Kaoru's heart just dropped a little farther down into that bottomless pit of despair. He had to live.
The work was hard, and it took many agonizing minutes for Sanosuke to finally get the boulder off Yahiko. Tsubame had finally come to, a little, and had crawled over to where they were.
Megumi immediately rushed to Yahiko's aid. She checked his pulse. Her face paled. She continued checking him. She listened to his heart. She tried breathing into him. A lump formed in Kaoru's throat- it kept her from crying- speaking- breathing. The more frantic Megumi looked, the more the lump grew. Until…
Finally, Megumi looked up at Kenshin, Sano, Tsubame, and lastly, Kaoru. In her eyes, Kaoru saw the most sympathetic, yet pained look she had ever seen in her life. Kaoru struggled to swallow the lump down, but that seemed to just make it grow. She could not bring herself to ask the question her heart wanted to so bad- her tongue felt as though it had been laden down with weights, weakened, and then squeezed dry. Finally, Tsubame asked in a very small voice…
"Is Yahiko- all right?"
Megumi dabbed tears from her eyes with her fingers, than squeezed her eyes shut, seemingly trying to find a way to tell the bad news. She replied barely audibly.
"He's… gone."
Kaoru saw nothing, and she felt nothing. She became numb. She wanted to sick up- she wanted to die- she wanted to laugh hysterically- she wanted to cry. Yet all she did was sit there, eyes staring…
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