~Chapter Three-Trapped in Heart and body~
Kaoru walked through the empty streets with Ayame and Sazume, heading towards Dr. Genzai's house in the middle of town.
"Auntie Kaoru? Why do you need to see Miss Tae? Uncle Ken saw her today already." Ayame spoke up at Kaoru.
Kaoru looked down at Ayame and smiled. "If you can keep a secret, I really don't need to see Miss Tae….and I don't plan on seeing her tonight either."
Ayame stared. "Why did you lie to Uncle Ken? Grandpa says it's not good to lie to people!"
"Yeah! Not good to lie!" Sazume spoke up, wanting to be apart of the conversation.
Kaoru sighed. "I know. One should never lie to someone else. But there is such a thing as a good lie. It's when you're worried about someone else, in my case anyway, and I needed an excuse for me to take you two home instead of Kenshin."
"How come?" Ayame questioned, Sazume shortly copying her sister's words.
Kaoru knew why. "Well…it's too complicated. Don't worry about it."
She wanted to keep the subject low in profile.
*Just concentrate on getting these two back to Dr. Genzai's house, and then run back home yourself. Everything will be fine…and Kenshin will be
safe.* She told herself in mind.
As they began to enter town with thicker buildings around them, Kaoru paused in her tracks, stopping the girls with her.
3 policemen on horses were talking to an old man.
"Listen here! Because of the storm rolling in fast, we're setting a curfew for tonight! No one should be out of their houses by this time onto morning! Understood old man?" They spoke harshly.
The man nodded. "Yes…thank you for informing me, good police. I would have taken my evening walk right into the hail! I'll go back inside."
"Auntie Kaoru? Did you hear that? We'll have to go back to the dojo, and grandpa won't know why we never came home! He'll be worried about us!!" Ayame said in worry.
Kaoru watched as the police began to head their way. "Don't worry, you two! I'll get you home! The police are over-reacting! The storm won't even get bad until later on tonight! Sure, it's a little windy, but nothing to be afraid of!"
She then pulled them into the trees beside the pathway as the police rode by on their horses.
After they were well down the street in the other direction, Kaoru decided to take the forest path to Dr. Genzai's house.
"This'll be faster too, so I'll have you two home in no time." She assured the young ones as she walked through the trees.
As minutes rolled by, the darkness of the soon stormy night fell across them, and a chill of fear ran up Kaoru's spine.
The limbs in the trees above their heads creaked and groaned.
The shadows were everywhere around them.
Left over autumn leaves flew past.
Kaoru could feel Ayame and Sazume's hands tighten in her grasp.
"How much further?" Ayame finally whimpered.
Kaoru look ahead of them.
It was so dark! But she could see some lights about a hundred yards ahead.
"There! I'm sure that's Dr. Genzai's neighborhood. You'll be home in less then 5 minutes." She spoke with a bit of relief herself.
All of a sudden though, the wind that was harsh grew into a monster in less then a blink of an eye!!!
The girls cried out in fear as the trees overhead screeched as if they were about to fall.
The wind didn't die down though after about 30 seconds like it usually did! It kept raging….harder every moment!
It wasn't until Kaoru's coat flew off her very back into the sky, and she raised her head to watch it, that she saw what was falling towards her from the limbs!!!!
"GET OUT OF THE WAY AYAME AND SAZUME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She screamed as she shoved the girls out of the path of a huge branch torn off from one of the trees!!!
The wind finally died down after that, and Ayame opened her eyes from where she had been pushed to from Kaoru.
Sazume lay beside her.
She looked up and saw the humongous branch laying in the pathway, where they would have been killed if it had hit them.
"Thanks for pushing us out of the way, Auntie Kaoru!" Ayame smiled and turned back around, expecting to find Kaoru standing beside Sazume.
But no one was there.
No one in sight!!
"Auntie….Kaoru?" Ayame asked the air again.
Sazume opened her eyes and looked up at Ayame.
She helped her little sister up from the ground and brushed her off.
"Where's Auntie Kaoru??!! Did you see where she landed???" Ayame exclaimed.
Sazume shook her head. "Auntie Kaoru's not here?"
Ayame searched her young mind, and her eyes widened in fear after a moment.
She turned back around to face the fallen branch. "Oh no….." She spoke in terror.
"AUNTIE KAORU!!!!!!" She ran over to the branch, and all the way around it.
There, laying on the ground unconscious….was Kaoru.
Tears filled Ayame's eyes. "NO!!! AUNITE KAORU!!!!!" She fell to her knees and nudged her older sister figure gently.
No response.
She looked about her and ran over to the branch.
She tried to push it from Kaoru's left leg, which had been trapped underneath the weight. But it was much too heavy for her.
"Sazume!!!! We have to go get grandpa and Auntie Magumi!!!"
Sazume blinked. "Why?"
"Don't ask questions, just come on!!!!!!" Ayame screamed as she grabbed hold of Sazume's hand and ran with her up the path.
As the girls ran out of sight, Kaoru lay there motionless.
The wind picked up again, but only slightly.
Her bangs brushed over her face.
She was as silent as ever…..but inside, she was screamed with fear.
~With Ayame and Sazume~
The 2 girls threw the screen doors open and ran into the main office-room.
"GRANDPA!!!!! AUNITYE MAGUMI!!!!!! They cried out.
"Shhh. Your grandfather is sleeping. So I see Sir Ken finally brought you home? Did he leave already?" Magumi was sitting on a cushion drinking home tea when the girls ran in.
"NO!!!! UNCLE KEN DIDN'T BRING US!!! AUNTIE KAORU DID!!!!" Ayame exclaimed in panic.
"Hush now! What's wrong? Where is Kaoru?" Magumi placed her hands on the girls' shoulders.
Ayame's eyes filled with tears. "W…We…Where…where coming home…and….it was in the forest…and…and…the wind started to blow really hard…and then this branch fell, and Auntie Kaoru pushed us out of the way, and we thought she had gotten away too, but…but….SHE GOT TRAPPED UNERNEATH THE BRANCH AND SHE'S NOT AWAKE!!!!" After explained the best she could, Ayame broke out in tears, and Sazume did so as well.
"OH MY GOD!!!!" Magumi stood up. "WHERE DID YOU LEAVE HER AT??!!!"
Ayame took Magumi's hand and led her to the backdoor where they had come in.
She pointed off into the night fallen forest.
"Okay!!! Hold tight, I'm gonna tell your grandfather and then we'll go find her, okay?? Does Sir Ken know about this????" Magumi stated quickly.
Ayame shook her head.
Magumi took no time in replying.
She ran to Dr. Genzai's room and thrashed the screen open.
"SOMETHING'S HAPPEN TO KAORU OUT IN THE FOREST!!! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!!! HURRY TO THE DOJO AND MEET US THERE!!! WE'LL BRIGN KAORU!!!"
Dr. Genzai sat up quickly, fully awake.
"No….Kaoru!!!"
~About 7 minutes later~
Ayame and Sazume pulled Magumi by her hands into the forest, leading her to where they had left Kaoru.
Ayame finally stopped in a clearing where a branch had fallen, and thought that it was so familiar, it must be the place!
She ran to the other side, but to her shock, Kaoru wasn't there!!
"Are you sure this is where you left her, girls?" Magumi asked in concern.
Ayame looked around her.
Things looked so much the same in the dark, she couldn't tell!!
"I…I don't know!! I thought this was the place! It looks just like it!" Ayame covered her eyes with her hands as she began to cry again.
"Hey! Look!!!" Little Sazume exclaimed, pointing up to a coat hanging up in the trees.
"That's the coat Auntie Kaoru was wearing!! She HAD to have been here!!!" Ayame confirmed.
Magumi stood up and looked around her. "The weather's getting bad. Maybe…just maybe, Kaoru woke up after you left her and managed to pull herself out from under the branch, and headed back to the dojo! Let's go there and see, okay? We'll probably get there before your grandfather, and Kaoru is most-likely safe right now. We can't risk our own lives standing out here in the woods though! Come on!"
She grabbed hold of the girl's arms and headed towards town to get on the main street.
As Ayame was pulled away with her sister, she looked back at the branch. *…Auntie Kaoru…*
~10 minutes later~
Kenshin knelt on his knees finishing up the dishes in a water tub.
Outside the wind rushed by at top speeds.
It was the first time since winter that he had to close the doors to the kitchen. It was usually left open.
He finished the last of the plates, and began to put them away one by one.
*It's been over a half an hour now.* Hr thought to himself, staring at the plate in his hands. *Maybe she stayed to visit with Dr. Genzai and Miss Magumi. I know she didn't go to Tae's house.*
He remembered Kaoru saying that she would be back in a flash.
Some flash this was.
A pinch of worry was in the back of his mind and feelings, but he tried to tell himself that everything was fine, and that even though one of the greatest fortune tellers in all of Asia, Sir Fu-Young, had predicted terrible things for this storm, he had nothing to be concerned about.
"SIR KEN!!!!!!!!! SIR KEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU???!!!! YAHIKO???!!!!" The fearful voice of Miss Magumi cried out outside!!
Kenshin, forgetting to put the plate down he was holding, rushed to the front door to let Magumi in.
Yahiko came from his room to see what all the commotion was about as well.
When Kenshin opened the doors, he found a heavily breathing Magumi, Ayame, and Sazume!!!
About a second later, Dr. Genzai came through the gates as well.
"W…What's going on, Miss Magumi??!! Dr. Genzai??!!" Kenshin felt his concern building with uncertainty.
"Kaoru's come back, hasn't she? She's here, right?" Magumi breathed out, hoping for a positive answer.
It slowly began to rain outside, and everyone crowded onto the porch.
"What do you mean, Miss Magumi?? Kaoru went off with these two about 45 minutes ago to take them home!! Why have you all come back here?! Where's Miss Kaoru??" Kenshin asked these questions, starting to feel the worry growing.
"AUNTIE KAORU'S NOT HERE!!! WHERE IS SHE, AUNTIE MAGUMI??!! YOU SAID SHE'D BE HERE!!" Ayame began to sob, followed by Sazume.
"W….what are you saying?" Kenshin asked in almost a whisper…his voice cracking.
Magumi covered her mouth, and looked out into the rainy wind, starting to get worse.
"Kaoru….she's---the girls came back alone….and Ayame said that she was trapped under a fallen branch!! We went to find her….but we must have found the wrong place!!! Oh god…..no. She was unconscious too when Ayame and Sazume left her to get me and Dr. Genzai! She's still out there…..She could…..she could….." The expression on Kenshin's face made Magumi stop talking.
The plate in Kenshin's hands slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground, shattering.
"…..n……..no……." He stuttered, and ran out into the rain, beginning to come down harder.
He looked up at the sky.
In the distance, lightening clattered across the sky with thunder.
His red hair flew about in the wind.
"Sir Ken?? What are you doing??!!" Magumi exclaimed to him.
Kenshin didn't look back at the others. "I have to find Miss Kaoru…." He was letting his heart talk for him now.
Magumi shook her head wildly and ran out into the rain.
She grabbed onto Kenshin's arm. "NO!!! I WON'T LET YOU GO OUT INTO THE STORM LOOKING FOR HER!!! YOU'LL END UP SICK YOURSELF!!!"
Kenshin pulled his arm out of hers carefully, and then stared out the dojo gates. "I don't care if I get sick. I would be sick inside anyway if I stayed here and let her die out there all alone, hurt and cold."
With these words spoken, he rushed out into the wind.
"COME BACK SAFLY, KENSHIN!!!!" Yahiko called after him.
"What are you saying, Yahiko???!!! Why are you cheering him on???!!!!" Magumi screeched at the boy.
Yahiko turned away from Magumi's angry face. "You'll never understand, will you?"
"And what's THAT supposed to mean???" Magumi hissed.
"Feh! You guys should come inside. All of you. We'll wait for Kenshin to get back with Kaoru, and things will be fine." Yahiko explained.
He tried to sound cheerful…partly. But inside he was so scared for both Kaoru and Kenshin.
*Bad things happen. That old guy wasn't joking around…..* He thought to himself as the others came into the dojo to dry off and wait for the rurouni to find the trapped Kaoru….and bring her home safely.
~OH GOODNESS!!! YOU GOTTA KEEP READING, K?? GO!!!! *Sweat drop* lol~
~Smile B~