Chapter 9
~~~~~~~~~
Lucky
~~~~~~~~~
Kenshin: AND IT'S NOT THAT STUPID BAKA SPEARS SONG EITHER, DE GOZARU YO!!!!
Avia: thank you, Kenshin.
Kenshin: you're welcome, de gozaru yo.
Kaoru: now you have to eat my cooking......... (cue evil grin) (insert evil hand rub here)
Kenshin: @.@X oro..........
Avia: domo to all my reviewers that suggested stuff. It really helped. ^^ Also, chapter ten will be the last chapter. But fear not, I've already started the sequel. I've seen both OAV's and one of the movies, so it should be fairly accurate. Thanks for being so patient.
~~~~~~~~~
Suzuka and Megumi walked in to see Kenshin and Kaoru. He was wearing his usual smile and she looked dumbstruck.
Megumi tried to say something, but Suzuka stopped her. "We should leave them alone. Let's go find everyone else."
"Are you alright, Kaoru-Dono?" Kenshin asked. "I didn't scare you, did I?"
"Yes!!" Kaoru exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
"Yes, I scared you, or yes, you'll marry me?"
"Kenshin!"
"Sorry about that, what did you want to tell me, again?"
"Oh, that's right! Aki's going to have a baby."
"Oh, that's wonderful that it is!"
Kaoru gave a sigh. "I should get my classroom ready."
"But we have to tell everyone de gozaru yo." (AN: @.@ sorry for the random change of languages)
"Hm, well, they won't be here for a little while. Sure, let's tell everyone," she said with a smile.
~~~~~~~~~
"Hoé?" Suzuka asked, suddenly coming to with a shake of the head. "She is?"
Misao nodded. She, Suzuka, and Megumi were standing outside Aki and Sano's room, trying to keep quiet so they could sleep.........and recover from unconsciousness.
"We thought she was sick, but she said she was expecting," Misao explained.
"Did she check and make sure?" Megumi asked.
Sano suddenly opened the door and slid it shut again. "If she were awake, she'd probably remind you that she's a doctor too. And.........don't you trust her?"
"Well, I haven't known her as long as you have. I don't know when she's lying and when she's being serious."
"Why would she lie about that?!" Misao asked, realizing how loud she was a moment too late.
Everyone turned their heads as they heard Aki get up. She opened the door and gave everyone a flat look. "Why didn't anyone tell me how late it was?"
"Yep, she's expecting," Megumi said rather flatly.
"I'm so happy for you two," Suzuka said with a smile.
Aki smiled back. "Domo, Suzuka-San."
"Well," Megumi started. "I'm not delivering it."
"You are now that you said that," Aki said, walking off.
"Yup, she's definitely expecting."
~~~~~~~~~
"Aki-Chan!" Kaoru said, running up to her friend.
"Hello, Kaoru-San, what's the matter?" she asked. "At least someone's in a good mood today," she said with a laugh.
"Kaoru-Chan," Suzuka said, coming up. "Megumi-Chan and I saw you and Kenny when we walked in. What were you tow talking about?"
"Ano........." Kaoru started, looking around as Kenshin walked in. "We were talking about laundry, weren't we, Kenshin?"
"Laundry?" Sano asked, walking in. "Jou-Chan, you talk about the strangest things."
"Sounds like an interesting subject to me," Suzuka said with a smile.
"Oro.........I suppose.........yes, we were talking about laundry, de gozaru yo."
"What's with the congregation in the hall for?" Yahiko asked, walking in.
Everyone rolled their eyes except Kenshin. This reaction would definitely be an interesting one.
"Well? What are you all standing around staring at me for?! What's the matter?!"
Kaoru finally gave one more eye-roll and bent down. After about half a minute of explaining, Yahiko finally got the idea and walked up to Aki. "You disgust me..........but I'm happy for you anyway."
He walked to the front door, looked back one more time, and gave Sano an evil grin. "For Aki's sake, I hope it looks nothing like you!" With that, he jumped out of the dojo and headed for the Akabeko.
"You're not going to chase after?" Misao asked Sano.
"Nah..........I figure I should just let the little whelp run from nothing. That way, when he finds his little girlfriend at the restaurant, he won't be able to say anything."
"Ano..........great thinking, I'm going to work," Aki declared, nodding her head, walking back into her room.
"You're getting over morning sickness...........I think," Sano said, scratching his head.
"Nah, I don't think so...........I'm not that far along yet," Aki's voice came from the closed door as she got dressed. "If I get something to eat, I should be fine.........."
~~~~~~~~~
Later that day, Aki walked back up to the dojo after completing the day's work. "Sano-Kun.........you really didn't have to come........" she said, shaking her head.
"I was worried."
"Too much........."
"Ne, where's Jou-Chan?"
"She's having class at the temple instead of the dojo today. Misao- Chan volunteered to buy the miso with Kenshin.........which means she's buying and he's carrying..........Suzuka-San and Aoshi-San are sending invitations to Kyoto for the Oniwabanshu.........we're stuck bored again."
Aki turned around to a slight tapping on her shoulder that wasn't Sano. "Yes?" she asked.
There stood a girl about her age with light brown hair and bright green eyes. She definitely wasn't Japanese.
"Kaoru-Chan!" the girl screamed, giving her a hug. "You've shot up a few feet!"
"N-no.........I'm not Kaoru-San.........she's giving a class right now...........is there anything I can do for you?"
"Terribly sorry," the girl apologized, letting go. "I'm Amelia James. Nice to meet you. I'm an old friend of Kaoru's."
"You don't look Japanese," Sano observed. "Where did you say you were from?"
"Virginia," she said, bowing, trying to show a little respect for their culture. It looked rather odd in her hoop skirts and petticoats. She even had a little parasol to boot. (AN: sorry, I'm from the South, I would've eventually added a Southern bell anyway @@)
"Virginia........." Sano said, scratching his head. "Virginia.........doesn't ring a bell."
"That's a state in America, baka," Aki said with a sweat-drop. "Gomen ne, I forgot to introduce myself. Akiyama Sagara and this is my husband, Sanosuke," she explained, returning the bow. "Please, come in and we'll get you something to eat," she said, opening the door.
"How did you come to know Kaoru-San, Amelia-San?" Aki asked as Sano came back from putting up her supplies.
"Yeah, Jou-Chan never mentioned a friend from the states," Sano said with his usual confused head-scratch.
"When the Meiji was finally beginning to start," the newcomer began. "My father thought it would be the best time to come here and train in kenjutstu like he always wanted to. He taught me Japanese, bought me a kimono and brought me with him, since my mother had passed away the year before. I thought it would be boring, but he said that Kamiya-San had a daughter about my age, so, that's how I met her. It was so sad when my father died and I had to go back, we were both crying on each other's shoulders,"
"Ano........." Aki said, tilting her head. "Did you send a letter or anything? If you did..........I don't think Kaoru-San said anything about it."
"I decided to keep it a surprise."
"Kenshin!!" Misao's voice came from the door. "WATCH THE MISO, YOU RED-HAIRED, CROSS-EYED, CROSS-SCARRED, BUCK-TOOTHED, SPLIT-ENDED, SHORT, WEAK-SHOULDERED KLUTZ!!"
"Oro........." Kenshin's strained voice said as he spun in , trying to balance two buckets of miso strapped to a board.
Sano shook his head and took the miso before Kenshin toppled over. "Kenshin, this is Amelia James from America, she's Jou-Chan's friend."
"Nice to meet you, de gozaru yo, I'm Himura Kenshin, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said with a bow as he followed Sano and Misao into the kitchen.
"Kaoru-Chan got lucky," Amelia said as soon as it was just her and Aki.
"Eh?"
"When Kaoru-Chan and I were little we would always talk about the men we were going to marry," she explained. "We would try to put different combinations of things together, but I always ended up with a rich businessman and she would end up with a swordsman. Just like our fathers."
Aki smiled. "I see I'm not the only one who fell for someone like my father."
Amelia laughed. "My husband didn't end up the way I had planned, though."
"He didn't?"
She shook her head. "He turned out better."
"Put your equipment where it belongs, Minna-San," Kaoru said as her class filed in, put their things up, and left. "Ja ne!" she called from the door. She turned around to see her friend. "Nee-Chan!!" she called, running over for a hug.
Misao opened the kitchen door. "Weird!" she exclaimed. "It's a Japanese AND a Western Kaoru!!"
"WHERE?!" Yahiko screamed, running in.
While Aki watched the two long-separated friends, she realized something. She had seen it coming, but she didn't think it would have come so suddenly, but when it did, she felt very stupid for not noticing. 'That's what they were keeping from us,' she thought with a smile.
~~~~~~~~~
After everyone had settled down to get to know the newcomer, Amelia asked a very strange question. "So, Nee-Chan, why don't you spill it?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"What's up between you and Himura-Kun?"
Kenshin and Kaoru looked around, trying to think of what to say to that.
"Laundry," Kaoru said, causing everyone to face-plant.
"Oro..."
"Oh, come on, it's blatantly obvious that there's SOMETHING going on."
Kaoru blushed so much her faced turned the color of her indigo ribbon.
(AN: it's not navy, it's not cobalt, it's INDIGO. (sorry, outtakes on the DVD, couldn't help myself. Don't mind me (goes off humming Freckles)))
"Blatantly...."
"Obvious, de gozaru ka?"
"Hee, hee," Yahiko snickered rather mischievously. "Come on, tanuki girl, spill it!"
"Not until after dinner!" Kaoru proclaimed, thrusting a fist into the air.
"Kaoru-San...we just finished dinner," Aki said with a sweat-drop.
"Until the dishes are put up?"
"We did that, too..." Misao said, getting bored.
"Come on, Kaoru-Chan," Suzuka said, happily sitting next to Aoshi. Her cold fiancée nodded in agreement. "We'll tell after you do."
Suzuka looked at Aoshi. He shrugged. "They were going to find out eventually."
She shrugged too. "You first, Kaoru-Chan."
Kaoru seemed to speechless to say anything, so Kenshin spoke up. "We're----"
"Kenshin!" Kaoru said as she did the first thing to make him shut up that came to mind, which was throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss.
"I knew it!" Amelia declared.
Aki smiled. "Now that you've told us that you're getting married, Kaoru-San...Suzuka-San, you're turn," she said with a laugh.
"Oro..." Kenshin said with a blush as Kaoru let go with a blush of her own.
Suzuka let out a chuckle and looked up. "We're getting married in Kyoto."
"That sounds fun," Kaoru said with a smile.
Amelia smiled. Everyone heard the sound of a carriage drawing in front of the dojo. "Thank you for the company, Nee-Chan. And the dinner. Your cooking style hasn't changed," she said with a laugh as she stood up. "I have to go," she said apologetically.
"Thanks for coming, Nee-Chan," Kaoru said, giving her friend a hug.
~~~~~~~~~
Yahiko looked around the corner of a house in the middle of town. This had been bugging him since...whenever it started! The boy had everything down when it came street smarts and common sense, but when it came to girls, his brain was a blank. Yup, when it came to the opposite gender, Myojin Yahiko, Tokyo Samurai was a complete moron.
But no one called him that, not even himself!!
He looked around one more time and darted for the flower bed...
Kaoru wiped her forehead and put her bokuto on its rack. "Kaoru?" Yahiko's voice said from the side. He walked up, hiding something behind his back. "Can...can I borrow a ribbon?"
She blinked in surprise. "Yahiko, I don't know who you've been hanging around—"
"IT'S NOT THAT!! It's..." Mumble, mumble, mumble.
"Wha?"
"It's for Tsubame," he admitted, taking out a huge bouquet of bright blue irises.
"Blue irises? Do you know how hard they are to find?!"
"I had an easy time finding 'em...I mean, the vendor said that, too...I hope she likes 'em."
"That's so cute!!" Kaoru said, clasping her hands together with a bright smile. "Of course you can. In fact, you can have my favorite ribbon, since you're my favorite pupil."
Yahiko blinked and blushed. After all these months of training with her, it was just now that Yahiko realized...all girls were exactly the same. Confusing. "I am?"
"Of course!"
"Yahiko-San!" Tae said as the boy walked in. "How can I help you?"
Mumble, mumble, mumble.
"Nani?"
"Is Tsubame free?"
Tae smiled. "Just a minute, you sit here," she said gesturing to an empty table.
"Yahiko-Kun?" Tsubame asked half a minute later, walking up to the table. "Something weird's going on, Tae-San gave me the day off..."
Yahiko couldn't say anything, he just gestured for her to sit with him. She blinked and sat next to him. "What is it, Yahiko-Kun?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. They had been threw everything, just like Kenshin and Kaoru. He couldn't stand it anymore, he had to! Putting the flowers beside him, he took her in his arms. "I love you!"
Tsubame's eyes widened and she blushed a few new shade of red and maybe purple. She was completely speechless.
"Oh!" he said, letting go, reaching beside him. "These are for you," His face had gone a few different colors as well.
"Ya-Yahiko-Kun..." she started. "I love you, too," she said, taking the flowers and giving him a small kiss on the lips.
Yahiko blinked a few times. Girls weren't so confusing once you found something in common... "Let's get out of here," he said with a smile, taking her hand, and leading her out.
~~~~~~~~~
AN: okay, okay, so he didn't technically ask her out, but I thought this would be cuter. Hope that makes up for it
~~~~~~~~~
Lucky
~~~~~~~~~
Kenshin: AND IT'S NOT THAT STUPID BAKA SPEARS SONG EITHER, DE GOZARU YO!!!!
Avia: thank you, Kenshin.
Kenshin: you're welcome, de gozaru yo.
Kaoru: now you have to eat my cooking......... (cue evil grin) (insert evil hand rub here)
Kenshin: @.@X oro..........
Avia: domo to all my reviewers that suggested stuff. It really helped. ^^ Also, chapter ten will be the last chapter. But fear not, I've already started the sequel. I've seen both OAV's and one of the movies, so it should be fairly accurate. Thanks for being so patient.
~~~~~~~~~
Suzuka and Megumi walked in to see Kenshin and Kaoru. He was wearing his usual smile and she looked dumbstruck.
Megumi tried to say something, but Suzuka stopped her. "We should leave them alone. Let's go find everyone else."
"Are you alright, Kaoru-Dono?" Kenshin asked. "I didn't scare you, did I?"
"Yes!!" Kaoru exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.
"Yes, I scared you, or yes, you'll marry me?"
"Kenshin!"
"Sorry about that, what did you want to tell me, again?"
"Oh, that's right! Aki's going to have a baby."
"Oh, that's wonderful that it is!"
Kaoru gave a sigh. "I should get my classroom ready."
"But we have to tell everyone de gozaru yo." (AN: @.@ sorry for the random change of languages)
"Hm, well, they won't be here for a little while. Sure, let's tell everyone," she said with a smile.
~~~~~~~~~
"Hoé?" Suzuka asked, suddenly coming to with a shake of the head. "She is?"
Misao nodded. She, Suzuka, and Megumi were standing outside Aki and Sano's room, trying to keep quiet so they could sleep.........and recover from unconsciousness.
"We thought she was sick, but she said she was expecting," Misao explained.
"Did she check and make sure?" Megumi asked.
Sano suddenly opened the door and slid it shut again. "If she were awake, she'd probably remind you that she's a doctor too. And.........don't you trust her?"
"Well, I haven't known her as long as you have. I don't know when she's lying and when she's being serious."
"Why would she lie about that?!" Misao asked, realizing how loud she was a moment too late.
Everyone turned their heads as they heard Aki get up. She opened the door and gave everyone a flat look. "Why didn't anyone tell me how late it was?"
"Yep, she's expecting," Megumi said rather flatly.
"I'm so happy for you two," Suzuka said with a smile.
Aki smiled back. "Domo, Suzuka-San."
"Well," Megumi started. "I'm not delivering it."
"You are now that you said that," Aki said, walking off.
"Yup, she's definitely expecting."
~~~~~~~~~
"Aki-Chan!" Kaoru said, running up to her friend.
"Hello, Kaoru-San, what's the matter?" she asked. "At least someone's in a good mood today," she said with a laugh.
"Kaoru-Chan," Suzuka said, coming up. "Megumi-Chan and I saw you and Kenny when we walked in. What were you tow talking about?"
"Ano........." Kaoru started, looking around as Kenshin walked in. "We were talking about laundry, weren't we, Kenshin?"
"Laundry?" Sano asked, walking in. "Jou-Chan, you talk about the strangest things."
"Sounds like an interesting subject to me," Suzuka said with a smile.
"Oro.........I suppose.........yes, we were talking about laundry, de gozaru yo."
"What's with the congregation in the hall for?" Yahiko asked, walking in.
Everyone rolled their eyes except Kenshin. This reaction would definitely be an interesting one.
"Well? What are you all standing around staring at me for?! What's the matter?!"
Kaoru finally gave one more eye-roll and bent down. After about half a minute of explaining, Yahiko finally got the idea and walked up to Aki. "You disgust me..........but I'm happy for you anyway."
He walked to the front door, looked back one more time, and gave Sano an evil grin. "For Aki's sake, I hope it looks nothing like you!" With that, he jumped out of the dojo and headed for the Akabeko.
"You're not going to chase after?" Misao asked Sano.
"Nah..........I figure I should just let the little whelp run from nothing. That way, when he finds his little girlfriend at the restaurant, he won't be able to say anything."
"Ano..........great thinking, I'm going to work," Aki declared, nodding her head, walking back into her room.
"You're getting over morning sickness...........I think," Sano said, scratching his head.
"Nah, I don't think so...........I'm not that far along yet," Aki's voice came from the closed door as she got dressed. "If I get something to eat, I should be fine.........."
~~~~~~~~~
Later that day, Aki walked back up to the dojo after completing the day's work. "Sano-Kun.........you really didn't have to come........" she said, shaking her head.
"I was worried."
"Too much........."
"Ne, where's Jou-Chan?"
"She's having class at the temple instead of the dojo today. Misao- Chan volunteered to buy the miso with Kenshin.........which means she's buying and he's carrying..........Suzuka-San and Aoshi-San are sending invitations to Kyoto for the Oniwabanshu.........we're stuck bored again."
Aki turned around to a slight tapping on her shoulder that wasn't Sano. "Yes?" she asked.
There stood a girl about her age with light brown hair and bright green eyes. She definitely wasn't Japanese.
"Kaoru-Chan!" the girl screamed, giving her a hug. "You've shot up a few feet!"
"N-no.........I'm not Kaoru-San.........she's giving a class right now...........is there anything I can do for you?"
"Terribly sorry," the girl apologized, letting go. "I'm Amelia James. Nice to meet you. I'm an old friend of Kaoru's."
"You don't look Japanese," Sano observed. "Where did you say you were from?"
"Virginia," she said, bowing, trying to show a little respect for their culture. It looked rather odd in her hoop skirts and petticoats. She even had a little parasol to boot. (AN: sorry, I'm from the South, I would've eventually added a Southern bell anyway @@)
"Virginia........." Sano said, scratching his head. "Virginia.........doesn't ring a bell."
"That's a state in America, baka," Aki said with a sweat-drop. "Gomen ne, I forgot to introduce myself. Akiyama Sagara and this is my husband, Sanosuke," she explained, returning the bow. "Please, come in and we'll get you something to eat," she said, opening the door.
"How did you come to know Kaoru-San, Amelia-San?" Aki asked as Sano came back from putting up her supplies.
"Yeah, Jou-Chan never mentioned a friend from the states," Sano said with his usual confused head-scratch.
"When the Meiji was finally beginning to start," the newcomer began. "My father thought it would be the best time to come here and train in kenjutstu like he always wanted to. He taught me Japanese, bought me a kimono and brought me with him, since my mother had passed away the year before. I thought it would be boring, but he said that Kamiya-San had a daughter about my age, so, that's how I met her. It was so sad when my father died and I had to go back, we were both crying on each other's shoulders,"
"Ano........." Aki said, tilting her head. "Did you send a letter or anything? If you did..........I don't think Kaoru-San said anything about it."
"I decided to keep it a surprise."
"Kenshin!!" Misao's voice came from the door. "WATCH THE MISO, YOU RED-HAIRED, CROSS-EYED, CROSS-SCARRED, BUCK-TOOTHED, SPLIT-ENDED, SHORT, WEAK-SHOULDERED KLUTZ!!"
"Oro........." Kenshin's strained voice said as he spun in , trying to balance two buckets of miso strapped to a board.
Sano shook his head and took the miso before Kenshin toppled over. "Kenshin, this is Amelia James from America, she's Jou-Chan's friend."
"Nice to meet you, de gozaru yo, I'm Himura Kenshin, de gozaru yo," Kenshin said with a bow as he followed Sano and Misao into the kitchen.
"Kaoru-Chan got lucky," Amelia said as soon as it was just her and Aki.
"Eh?"
"When Kaoru-Chan and I were little we would always talk about the men we were going to marry," she explained. "We would try to put different combinations of things together, but I always ended up with a rich businessman and she would end up with a swordsman. Just like our fathers."
Aki smiled. "I see I'm not the only one who fell for someone like my father."
Amelia laughed. "My husband didn't end up the way I had planned, though."
"He didn't?"
She shook her head. "He turned out better."
"Put your equipment where it belongs, Minna-San," Kaoru said as her class filed in, put their things up, and left. "Ja ne!" she called from the door. She turned around to see her friend. "Nee-Chan!!" she called, running over for a hug.
Misao opened the kitchen door. "Weird!" she exclaimed. "It's a Japanese AND a Western Kaoru!!"
"WHERE?!" Yahiko screamed, running in.
While Aki watched the two long-separated friends, she realized something. She had seen it coming, but she didn't think it would have come so suddenly, but when it did, she felt very stupid for not noticing. 'That's what they were keeping from us,' she thought with a smile.
~~~~~~~~~
After everyone had settled down to get to know the newcomer, Amelia asked a very strange question. "So, Nee-Chan, why don't you spill it?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"What's up between you and Himura-Kun?"
Kenshin and Kaoru looked around, trying to think of what to say to that.
"Laundry," Kaoru said, causing everyone to face-plant.
"Oro..."
"Oh, come on, it's blatantly obvious that there's SOMETHING going on."
Kaoru blushed so much her faced turned the color of her indigo ribbon.
(AN: it's not navy, it's not cobalt, it's INDIGO. (sorry, outtakes on the DVD, couldn't help myself. Don't mind me (goes off humming Freckles)))
"Blatantly...."
"Obvious, de gozaru ka?"
"Hee, hee," Yahiko snickered rather mischievously. "Come on, tanuki girl, spill it!"
"Not until after dinner!" Kaoru proclaimed, thrusting a fist into the air.
"Kaoru-San...we just finished dinner," Aki said with a sweat-drop.
"Until the dishes are put up?"
"We did that, too..." Misao said, getting bored.
"Come on, Kaoru-Chan," Suzuka said, happily sitting next to Aoshi. Her cold fiancée nodded in agreement. "We'll tell after you do."
Suzuka looked at Aoshi. He shrugged. "They were going to find out eventually."
She shrugged too. "You first, Kaoru-Chan."
Kaoru seemed to speechless to say anything, so Kenshin spoke up. "We're----"
"Kenshin!" Kaoru said as she did the first thing to make him shut up that came to mind, which was throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss.
"I knew it!" Amelia declared.
Aki smiled. "Now that you've told us that you're getting married, Kaoru-San...Suzuka-San, you're turn," she said with a laugh.
"Oro..." Kenshin said with a blush as Kaoru let go with a blush of her own.
Suzuka let out a chuckle and looked up. "We're getting married in Kyoto."
"That sounds fun," Kaoru said with a smile.
Amelia smiled. Everyone heard the sound of a carriage drawing in front of the dojo. "Thank you for the company, Nee-Chan. And the dinner. Your cooking style hasn't changed," she said with a laugh as she stood up. "I have to go," she said apologetically.
"Thanks for coming, Nee-Chan," Kaoru said, giving her friend a hug.
~~~~~~~~~
Yahiko looked around the corner of a house in the middle of town. This had been bugging him since...whenever it started! The boy had everything down when it came street smarts and common sense, but when it came to girls, his brain was a blank. Yup, when it came to the opposite gender, Myojin Yahiko, Tokyo Samurai was a complete moron.
But no one called him that, not even himself!!
He looked around one more time and darted for the flower bed...
Kaoru wiped her forehead and put her bokuto on its rack. "Kaoru?" Yahiko's voice said from the side. He walked up, hiding something behind his back. "Can...can I borrow a ribbon?"
She blinked in surprise. "Yahiko, I don't know who you've been hanging around—"
"IT'S NOT THAT!! It's..." Mumble, mumble, mumble.
"Wha?"
"It's for Tsubame," he admitted, taking out a huge bouquet of bright blue irises.
"Blue irises? Do you know how hard they are to find?!"
"I had an easy time finding 'em...I mean, the vendor said that, too...I hope she likes 'em."
"That's so cute!!" Kaoru said, clasping her hands together with a bright smile. "Of course you can. In fact, you can have my favorite ribbon, since you're my favorite pupil."
Yahiko blinked and blushed. After all these months of training with her, it was just now that Yahiko realized...all girls were exactly the same. Confusing. "I am?"
"Of course!"
"Yahiko-San!" Tae said as the boy walked in. "How can I help you?"
Mumble, mumble, mumble.
"Nani?"
"Is Tsubame free?"
Tae smiled. "Just a minute, you sit here," she said gesturing to an empty table.
"Yahiko-Kun?" Tsubame asked half a minute later, walking up to the table. "Something weird's going on, Tae-San gave me the day off..."
Yahiko couldn't say anything, he just gestured for her to sit with him. She blinked and sat next to him. "What is it, Yahiko-Kun?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. They had been threw everything, just like Kenshin and Kaoru. He couldn't stand it anymore, he had to! Putting the flowers beside him, he took her in his arms. "I love you!"
Tsubame's eyes widened and she blushed a few new shade of red and maybe purple. She was completely speechless.
"Oh!" he said, letting go, reaching beside him. "These are for you," His face had gone a few different colors as well.
"Ya-Yahiko-Kun..." she started. "I love you, too," she said, taking the flowers and giving him a small kiss on the lips.
Yahiko blinked a few times. Girls weren't so confusing once you found something in common... "Let's get out of here," he said with a smile, taking her hand, and leading her out.
~~~~~~~~~
AN: okay, okay, so he didn't technically ask her out, but I thought this would be cuter. Hope that makes up for it