Standard Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this series. Just a
fan.
Readers: Sorry that the chapter meanders about a bit. Thought I would put in some humor after all the exposition of the last chapter.
Chapter 2: ~*~*~*~*
Kenshin pulled on his clothes as he heard the people in the office next door come in for work.
"Kaoru," Kenshin mumbled to himself. Today he would see that lovely lady from the Arabeko again. The one who had strangely magical effects on his body temperature. The young redheaded man pulled on the western style pants that Sano had bought him. They hung loosely around his waist so Kenshin pulled the belt off the nail it hung from on the wall.
After dressing, Kenshin picked up the small silver-framed picture which stood on the small wooden box he had been using as a dresser. In the picture, his father, Kenji, stood next to his mother, who rested her head on his shoulder. Below them, a pre-teen Kenshin stood next to his younger sister who smiled bashfully through her bangs.
"Tsubame. Be well, Tsubame. Do your best in your studies today," Kenshin murmured as he touched the glass above Tsubame's bashful face.
Kenshin grabbed his trench coat and strapped his sword across his back. Time for breakfast.
Breakfast with the Giovanni household was always a raucous affair. So, it was best to take in the ebb and flow of the city morning in a slow walk towards Little Italy. Kenshin heard the newsboys on the street shouting the morning's headlines as soon as he left the office building.
"San Francisco heat wave expected to last another week! Seventeen already dead!"
Men and women busily opened shops and swept sidewalks. Giggling schoolchildren ran haphazardly towards schools in a half-hearted attempt to not be late. Kenshin stopped at a nearby flower shop and picked up a small bouquet of mixed flowers. As he did, he eyed the violets. Would it be improper to bring Miss Kaoru some flowers as well? Probably so. What was he thinking? Sano would make him throw them away, at the very least.
When he finally arrived at the Giovanni house, a thin red building sandwiched between two other buildings, Kenshin walked inside without knocking. Stealthily, he slipped inside and around the staircase leading to the residents' bedrooms. One ice-blue eye peered through the cracked- open door into the kitchen where sounds of eggs being fried could be heard.
Prey.
A female scream reverberated through the house.
"Oh Kenshin," Mrs. Giovanni said, batting the air in front of the young man playfully, "You scared me to death. You're as bad as my Sano."
Kenshin smiled and handed the aging but spirited woman the flowers.
"Alright then, you are forgiven."
Sano burst into the kitchen in only his shorts, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and a baseball bat in his hands. "Ma? Ma? You okay, Ma? What's wrong?" The barely-dressed Italian man looked around confusedly.
Immediately, a rain of insults in Italian and English were lobbed at Sano, followed shortly by several slaps, pushes and an ear-twist. All Kenshin could make out was: "Never. This house. You smoking. Get out. Get dressed. Breakfast."
"Alright. Alright already, ma." Sano tossed his cigarette into the sink and walked back out of the kitchen, but not before giving his friend a glare. Somehow, this had to be Kenshin's fault.
"What a horrible habit. Horrible, I tell you. Smoking. Nasty. You don't smoke, do you Kenshin?" Camilla Giovanni asked as she plucked the cigarette out of the sink and threw it in the trash. Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Of course you don't. You know why? Because you are a good boy, that's why. There is some fresh squeezed orange juice there, but I know you don't want that, so how about a tall glass of water? These flowers are lovely; I think I will put them in the parlor. Maybe the good doctor will think I had a gentleman-caller, hm? Oh boy, the eggs are burning. Here Kenshin, will you help me out with this. You only need to stir. That's right, just stir the batter."
Camilla Giovanni was -definitely- a morning person. In fact, she was also an afternoon and an evening person. Sano had once remarked that he believed she got -more- energetic with age. In fact, he had said, she would probably still have enough energy after she died to build her own coffin and bury herself.
After that comment, Sano had crossed himself twice, just for good measure.
"Soooo, I heard you two have a new client? A pretty Japanese girl, hm? Maybe you should ask her out, Kenshin. I'd be so glad if my Sano would stop taking a different girl out every week. 'When are you going to give me grandchildren?' I keep asking him. But no. Well, at least he stopped gambling. I do know that is due, in part, to your good influence, Kenshin. You can't hide it from me. Mothers see everything, you know. Ahhh! Dr. Genselli!"
The Giovannis had lived next door to the Gensellis as long as Sano could remember. Dr. Genselli had been Mr. Giovanni's best friend, and when Sano's father died, Dr. Genselli had become like the family's caretaker until Mrs. Giovanni found work in a local Italian pastry shop.
The two families were a lot like one. Dr. Genselli's wife had died too, around the same time as Sano's father, so it was only natural that the widow and widower would become companions. Sano had been waiting -years- for Dr. Genselli to pop the question to his mother, but figured the old fellow probably never would, out of respect for Dr. Giovanni's memory.
The old doctor ushered his two small granddaughters into the door. They squealed upon seeing Kenshin, and immediately each one clamped onto one of his legs.
"Give us a ride, Kenshin! Give us a ride!"
Kenshin smiled, the color in his eyes melting from ice blue to a light purple. Wordlessly, he handed the doctor the mixing bowl and began clomping up and down the hallway, eliciting squeals of approval from the little girls.
Sano, thankfully, had never told his family Kenshin's true profession. He only told them that the Japanese man had come to America so that he could get money for his ill sister back in Japan. Which was true, Kenshin had begun to work for the yakuza to pay Tsubame's medical bills. Once again, Sano had escaped lying to his mother. A good thing, too, Mrs. Giovanni had a nose for outright lies.
Of course, a story like that had caused Mrs. Giovanni to clutch Kenshin to her chest and exclaim, "Ah. You sweet boy. What a wonderful thing. That poor girl."
Breakfast raged like war in the kitchen. Kenshin had learned, early on, to try to take the seat furthest away from Sano, so as not to get hit by any of Mrs. Giovanni's errant blows. Dr. Genselli's granddaughters never could sit still for more than a few seconds, and were constantly running around, on, and under the table. Dr. Genselli would always try to help Mrs. Giovanni serve the food, but would inevitably trip on one of the little girls, Sano's outstretched legs, or the boisterous Mrs. Giovanni.
It was remarkable that the old man hadn't broken a hip.
"But Ma, its sweltering out there. And the pastry shop is even -hotter-. You can't go to work today. You just can't."
"Don't you tell me what to do, young man. We've got fans in the shop. Besides, no one wants hot goods during this heat wave. We've been making ice cream, you know. Everybody loves that stuff and it sells so well."
"Ice cream!!!! Ice CREAM!!!" the girls yelled in unison.
"Yes, yes. I will bring some home for you two tonight. Now, eat your eggs. You have to grow up big and strong. And, Sano, stop picking your teeth at the table."
"Alright Ma, Jesus Christ."
As Mrs. Giovanni turned, fire in her eyes at the horrific blasphemy her son had uttered, she ran into Dr. Genselli. Somehow, although he had been across the room, Kenshin was at the old man's side immediately to keep the doctor from smacking his head on the counter.
Thankfully, the one thing that could keep Mrs. Giovanni from going ballistic was possible injury inflicted onto anyone besides Sano.
"Oh. Doctor. Are you -alright-?"
In the commotion, Sanoretti Giovanni disappeared from the kitchen. And from his mother's grasp.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kenshin stepped out onto the porch where he knew his partner was waiting. He handed the Italian the lunches his mother had packed for the pair.
"Chri," Sano began, looking down at the bags. "Crimony." Mrs. Giovanni was still near enough to detect an infraction of the house rules.
Kenshin grinned wolfishly. He realized he hadn't said a word the entire time he had been in the house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sano whistled at a passing Irish woman as the pair walked down the street. "Check it out, Kenshin. Her hair is as red as yours. You got any Irish in you? I wouldn't mind having myself in some Irish, if you know what I mean." He elbowed the shorter man playfully.
Kenshin, however, was trying to figure out where they were going. The street signs were in Chinese and English. Kenshin could read neither. They had to be near the Kaoru's house. They had passed the noodle shop with the giant panda painting on the window, just as Kaoru's instructions had said.
Sano stopped in the middle of the sidewalk suddenly. Kenshin, thankfully, was alert enough not to bump into the now-gawking Italian.
"It. Is. Hideous," Sano said haltingly.
Kenshin followed Sano's gaze. The renovated Victorian that sat slightly back from the street was, if anything, very easy to spot. But, someone, someone had painted the house bright purple. Glaringly purple, with white trim. Kenshin peered at the two white doors on the front porch. Both had kanji signs. The left one read merely, "Apothecary". The right one read "Kamiya Learning Center".
"-That- is the place we are looking for, Sano."
"You have to be kidding." Sano stopped abruptly. A young woman neither man recognized came out of the Learning Center and walked across the porch. The girl, woman rather, seemed a few years older than Kaoru and walked with a worldly poise and grace. She wore a lavender gown, in the Western style, upon which someone had painted delicate cherry blossoms. Unlike Kaoru, the woman on the porch didn't seem to feel the need to cover up the plunging neckline.
Sano let out another whistle. "Ooo. Foxy lady." The woman turned for a moment, and looked directly -through- Sano. She smirked only so slightly before turning and entering the Apothecary.
Sano elbowed Kenshin again. "What's that one?"
"Herbal pharmacy."
"Indeed." As wicked thoughts sped through Sano's mind, Kenshin opened the gate to the house and walked through the small garden. Sano followed, and the pair was soon knocking on the Learning Center door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Thank you for the tea, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin sipped the hot tea slowly. He hadn't had any decent Japanese tea since he had come to America. And, with how burnt the tea tasted, he still couldn't say he'd had any decent Japanese tea.
Sano smelled the green tea and peered in the tiny cup. They were out of their minds, these Japanese.
"You said you have a picture of your brother?" Sano asked, instead.
Kaoru nodded and handed Sano the picture. The boy seemed small for his age, but the picture might be a bit old. He had a dark complexion and spiky black hair. Kaoru stood slightly to his left with one hand on her brother's shoulder.
"May we keep this for now?" Kenshin asked. Perhaps they could show it around, get a few leads.
"Of course."
Sano let Kenshin pocket the picture as he asked, "Did Yahiko have any trouble in school?"
"Not really. No more than any normal teenage boy who looks a bit different than everyone else. My parents came to America when I was very small. But Yahiko, he was born here. He knew enough English to go to a public school, so my parents let him."
"How about other family? Someone he might run to? Neighbors? Family friends?"
"Only our friend Meg. She lives next door. Runs an herbal apothecary. But she's been out of town. When she came over this morning, I asked her if she had seen or heard from Yahiko. She hadn't."
Kaoru bit her lip slightly in absent-minded contemplation, making Kenshin shudder. Those lips of hers. Would they produce the same warmth of her fingers? No. More. Definitely more. By Kami, he had to stop thinking like this. She was a -schoolteacher-, practically. And he was an assassin. A very expert assassin. And schoolteachers do -not- press their lusciously delicate lips against the skin of cold blooded murderers.
"May we look at his room? I know you have probably already looked, but we may be able to see something the untrained eye was unable to detect?" Sano asked, putting a full glass of tea back on the low table.
Kaoru lifted an eyebrow, trying to decide if there was a hidden insult in the last question. Deciding against the possibility, Kaoru stood and ushered the two detectives upstairs to the living quarters. Kenshin looked around the small house. Everything was decorated in purple. Purple vases. Purple curtains. Purple cushions on the floor. Lavender walls. Kenshin felt his jaw drop slightly. The woman really had a thing for purple.
Yahiko's small room, however, had been spared the purple-treatment. It seemed to be a normal room for a young American boy his age. Magazine pictures of airplanes and automobiles were pasted on the walls next to pages from penny-comics. Clothes and schoolbooks were strewn everywhere, and the room had a faint smell of socks.
"Feel free to look around", Kaoru said, standing in the doorway.
Sano nodded to Kenshin and the two started going through drawers and leafing through the pages of magazines and books. Kenshin checked under the bed and the dresser. Sano picked up a pair of the boy's pants, checked the pockets, and then tossed them aside. He repeated this with two more pairs of pants before his hand snagged on a small slip of paper.
Opening the folded paper, Sano said to Kenshin, "Hey, red. I think we have a lead."
At the same time, both Kenshin and Kaoru asked, "What did you find?"
"An address. Its an automobile repair shop."
"Well. Let's go."
Readers: Sorry that the chapter meanders about a bit. Thought I would put in some humor after all the exposition of the last chapter.
Chapter 2: ~*~*~*~*
Kenshin pulled on his clothes as he heard the people in the office next door come in for work.
"Kaoru," Kenshin mumbled to himself. Today he would see that lovely lady from the Arabeko again. The one who had strangely magical effects on his body temperature. The young redheaded man pulled on the western style pants that Sano had bought him. They hung loosely around his waist so Kenshin pulled the belt off the nail it hung from on the wall.
After dressing, Kenshin picked up the small silver-framed picture which stood on the small wooden box he had been using as a dresser. In the picture, his father, Kenji, stood next to his mother, who rested her head on his shoulder. Below them, a pre-teen Kenshin stood next to his younger sister who smiled bashfully through her bangs.
"Tsubame. Be well, Tsubame. Do your best in your studies today," Kenshin murmured as he touched the glass above Tsubame's bashful face.
Kenshin grabbed his trench coat and strapped his sword across his back. Time for breakfast.
Breakfast with the Giovanni household was always a raucous affair. So, it was best to take in the ebb and flow of the city morning in a slow walk towards Little Italy. Kenshin heard the newsboys on the street shouting the morning's headlines as soon as he left the office building.
"San Francisco heat wave expected to last another week! Seventeen already dead!"
Men and women busily opened shops and swept sidewalks. Giggling schoolchildren ran haphazardly towards schools in a half-hearted attempt to not be late. Kenshin stopped at a nearby flower shop and picked up a small bouquet of mixed flowers. As he did, he eyed the violets. Would it be improper to bring Miss Kaoru some flowers as well? Probably so. What was he thinking? Sano would make him throw them away, at the very least.
When he finally arrived at the Giovanni house, a thin red building sandwiched between two other buildings, Kenshin walked inside without knocking. Stealthily, he slipped inside and around the staircase leading to the residents' bedrooms. One ice-blue eye peered through the cracked- open door into the kitchen where sounds of eggs being fried could be heard.
Prey.
A female scream reverberated through the house.
"Oh Kenshin," Mrs. Giovanni said, batting the air in front of the young man playfully, "You scared me to death. You're as bad as my Sano."
Kenshin smiled and handed the aging but spirited woman the flowers.
"Alright then, you are forgiven."
Sano burst into the kitchen in only his shorts, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, and a baseball bat in his hands. "Ma? Ma? You okay, Ma? What's wrong?" The barely-dressed Italian man looked around confusedly.
Immediately, a rain of insults in Italian and English were lobbed at Sano, followed shortly by several slaps, pushes and an ear-twist. All Kenshin could make out was: "Never. This house. You smoking. Get out. Get dressed. Breakfast."
"Alright. Alright already, ma." Sano tossed his cigarette into the sink and walked back out of the kitchen, but not before giving his friend a glare. Somehow, this had to be Kenshin's fault.
"What a horrible habit. Horrible, I tell you. Smoking. Nasty. You don't smoke, do you Kenshin?" Camilla Giovanni asked as she plucked the cigarette out of the sink and threw it in the trash. Without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Of course you don't. You know why? Because you are a good boy, that's why. There is some fresh squeezed orange juice there, but I know you don't want that, so how about a tall glass of water? These flowers are lovely; I think I will put them in the parlor. Maybe the good doctor will think I had a gentleman-caller, hm? Oh boy, the eggs are burning. Here Kenshin, will you help me out with this. You only need to stir. That's right, just stir the batter."
Camilla Giovanni was -definitely- a morning person. In fact, she was also an afternoon and an evening person. Sano had once remarked that he believed she got -more- energetic with age. In fact, he had said, she would probably still have enough energy after she died to build her own coffin and bury herself.
After that comment, Sano had crossed himself twice, just for good measure.
"Soooo, I heard you two have a new client? A pretty Japanese girl, hm? Maybe you should ask her out, Kenshin. I'd be so glad if my Sano would stop taking a different girl out every week. 'When are you going to give me grandchildren?' I keep asking him. But no. Well, at least he stopped gambling. I do know that is due, in part, to your good influence, Kenshin. You can't hide it from me. Mothers see everything, you know. Ahhh! Dr. Genselli!"
The Giovannis had lived next door to the Gensellis as long as Sano could remember. Dr. Genselli had been Mr. Giovanni's best friend, and when Sano's father died, Dr. Genselli had become like the family's caretaker until Mrs. Giovanni found work in a local Italian pastry shop.
The two families were a lot like one. Dr. Genselli's wife had died too, around the same time as Sano's father, so it was only natural that the widow and widower would become companions. Sano had been waiting -years- for Dr. Genselli to pop the question to his mother, but figured the old fellow probably never would, out of respect for Dr. Giovanni's memory.
The old doctor ushered his two small granddaughters into the door. They squealed upon seeing Kenshin, and immediately each one clamped onto one of his legs.
"Give us a ride, Kenshin! Give us a ride!"
Kenshin smiled, the color in his eyes melting from ice blue to a light purple. Wordlessly, he handed the doctor the mixing bowl and began clomping up and down the hallway, eliciting squeals of approval from the little girls.
Sano, thankfully, had never told his family Kenshin's true profession. He only told them that the Japanese man had come to America so that he could get money for his ill sister back in Japan. Which was true, Kenshin had begun to work for the yakuza to pay Tsubame's medical bills. Once again, Sano had escaped lying to his mother. A good thing, too, Mrs. Giovanni had a nose for outright lies.
Of course, a story like that had caused Mrs. Giovanni to clutch Kenshin to her chest and exclaim, "Ah. You sweet boy. What a wonderful thing. That poor girl."
Breakfast raged like war in the kitchen. Kenshin had learned, early on, to try to take the seat furthest away from Sano, so as not to get hit by any of Mrs. Giovanni's errant blows. Dr. Genselli's granddaughters never could sit still for more than a few seconds, and were constantly running around, on, and under the table. Dr. Genselli would always try to help Mrs. Giovanni serve the food, but would inevitably trip on one of the little girls, Sano's outstretched legs, or the boisterous Mrs. Giovanni.
It was remarkable that the old man hadn't broken a hip.
"But Ma, its sweltering out there. And the pastry shop is even -hotter-. You can't go to work today. You just can't."
"Don't you tell me what to do, young man. We've got fans in the shop. Besides, no one wants hot goods during this heat wave. We've been making ice cream, you know. Everybody loves that stuff and it sells so well."
"Ice cream!!!! Ice CREAM!!!" the girls yelled in unison.
"Yes, yes. I will bring some home for you two tonight. Now, eat your eggs. You have to grow up big and strong. And, Sano, stop picking your teeth at the table."
"Alright Ma, Jesus Christ."
As Mrs. Giovanni turned, fire in her eyes at the horrific blasphemy her son had uttered, she ran into Dr. Genselli. Somehow, although he had been across the room, Kenshin was at the old man's side immediately to keep the doctor from smacking his head on the counter.
Thankfully, the one thing that could keep Mrs. Giovanni from going ballistic was possible injury inflicted onto anyone besides Sano.
"Oh. Doctor. Are you -alright-?"
In the commotion, Sanoretti Giovanni disappeared from the kitchen. And from his mother's grasp.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kenshin stepped out onto the porch where he knew his partner was waiting. He handed the Italian the lunches his mother had packed for the pair.
"Chri," Sano began, looking down at the bags. "Crimony." Mrs. Giovanni was still near enough to detect an infraction of the house rules.
Kenshin grinned wolfishly. He realized he hadn't said a word the entire time he had been in the house.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sano whistled at a passing Irish woman as the pair walked down the street. "Check it out, Kenshin. Her hair is as red as yours. You got any Irish in you? I wouldn't mind having myself in some Irish, if you know what I mean." He elbowed the shorter man playfully.
Kenshin, however, was trying to figure out where they were going. The street signs were in Chinese and English. Kenshin could read neither. They had to be near the Kaoru's house. They had passed the noodle shop with the giant panda painting on the window, just as Kaoru's instructions had said.
Sano stopped in the middle of the sidewalk suddenly. Kenshin, thankfully, was alert enough not to bump into the now-gawking Italian.
"It. Is. Hideous," Sano said haltingly.
Kenshin followed Sano's gaze. The renovated Victorian that sat slightly back from the street was, if anything, very easy to spot. But, someone, someone had painted the house bright purple. Glaringly purple, with white trim. Kenshin peered at the two white doors on the front porch. Both had kanji signs. The left one read merely, "Apothecary". The right one read "Kamiya Learning Center".
"-That- is the place we are looking for, Sano."
"You have to be kidding." Sano stopped abruptly. A young woman neither man recognized came out of the Learning Center and walked across the porch. The girl, woman rather, seemed a few years older than Kaoru and walked with a worldly poise and grace. She wore a lavender gown, in the Western style, upon which someone had painted delicate cherry blossoms. Unlike Kaoru, the woman on the porch didn't seem to feel the need to cover up the plunging neckline.
Sano let out another whistle. "Ooo. Foxy lady." The woman turned for a moment, and looked directly -through- Sano. She smirked only so slightly before turning and entering the Apothecary.
Sano elbowed Kenshin again. "What's that one?"
"Herbal pharmacy."
"Indeed." As wicked thoughts sped through Sano's mind, Kenshin opened the gate to the house and walked through the small garden. Sano followed, and the pair was soon knocking on the Learning Center door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Thank you for the tea, Miss Kaoru." Kenshin sipped the hot tea slowly. He hadn't had any decent Japanese tea since he had come to America. And, with how burnt the tea tasted, he still couldn't say he'd had any decent Japanese tea.
Sano smelled the green tea and peered in the tiny cup. They were out of their minds, these Japanese.
"You said you have a picture of your brother?" Sano asked, instead.
Kaoru nodded and handed Sano the picture. The boy seemed small for his age, but the picture might be a bit old. He had a dark complexion and spiky black hair. Kaoru stood slightly to his left with one hand on her brother's shoulder.
"May we keep this for now?" Kenshin asked. Perhaps they could show it around, get a few leads.
"Of course."
Sano let Kenshin pocket the picture as he asked, "Did Yahiko have any trouble in school?"
"Not really. No more than any normal teenage boy who looks a bit different than everyone else. My parents came to America when I was very small. But Yahiko, he was born here. He knew enough English to go to a public school, so my parents let him."
"How about other family? Someone he might run to? Neighbors? Family friends?"
"Only our friend Meg. She lives next door. Runs an herbal apothecary. But she's been out of town. When she came over this morning, I asked her if she had seen or heard from Yahiko. She hadn't."
Kaoru bit her lip slightly in absent-minded contemplation, making Kenshin shudder. Those lips of hers. Would they produce the same warmth of her fingers? No. More. Definitely more. By Kami, he had to stop thinking like this. She was a -schoolteacher-, practically. And he was an assassin. A very expert assassin. And schoolteachers do -not- press their lusciously delicate lips against the skin of cold blooded murderers.
"May we look at his room? I know you have probably already looked, but we may be able to see something the untrained eye was unable to detect?" Sano asked, putting a full glass of tea back on the low table.
Kaoru lifted an eyebrow, trying to decide if there was a hidden insult in the last question. Deciding against the possibility, Kaoru stood and ushered the two detectives upstairs to the living quarters. Kenshin looked around the small house. Everything was decorated in purple. Purple vases. Purple curtains. Purple cushions on the floor. Lavender walls. Kenshin felt his jaw drop slightly. The woman really had a thing for purple.
Yahiko's small room, however, had been spared the purple-treatment. It seemed to be a normal room for a young American boy his age. Magazine pictures of airplanes and automobiles were pasted on the walls next to pages from penny-comics. Clothes and schoolbooks were strewn everywhere, and the room had a faint smell of socks.
"Feel free to look around", Kaoru said, standing in the doorway.
Sano nodded to Kenshin and the two started going through drawers and leafing through the pages of magazines and books. Kenshin checked under the bed and the dresser. Sano picked up a pair of the boy's pants, checked the pockets, and then tossed them aside. He repeated this with two more pairs of pants before his hand snagged on a small slip of paper.
Opening the folded paper, Sano said to Kenshin, "Hey, red. I think we have a lead."
At the same time, both Kenshin and Kaoru asked, "What did you find?"
"An address. Its an automobile repair shop."
"Well. Let's go."