[a/n: sry for the long gap between this chapter and the next. I was really
busy with extra homework and all. =) well, here's chapter 8]
:: chapter 8 ::
Kaoru turned over again. For some reason, she couldn't submerge herself into dreamland, however much she wanted to. It was like there was something tugging away at her heart, making sleep impossible.
She sat up, twisting her long, thick braid behind her, brushing her bangs out of her face. It's because of Kenshin. Even though she knew that he wasn't going to get hurt, she just couldn't seem to be satisfied.
A slight tossing from Tomoe's futon startled Kaoru. From the moonlight sifting through the window, Kaoru noticed that Tomoe's eyes had fluttered open. "Gomen nasai!" Kaoru said in a low voice. "I didn't mean to wake you."
Tomoe also sat up, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face. "It's alright. I couldn't fall asleep either. It just . . . I don't know, I guess I'm wor . . . I mean, apprehensive because of . . . since Himura-san is going out on his . . . assignment . . . and all."
"Not that I have . . . really care that much . . . about him," Tomoe added hastily, seeing Kaoru's eyebrow rise into a high arch. Kaoru could swear that for that one moment, cool and collected Tomoe was actually flustered!
Kaoru walked up to then window, pushing it open. A warm gust of air, scented like blossoms, blew into the small room. "Hot night tonight."
A shadow moved. Kaoru rubbed her eyes and looked again. No, it wasn't a shadow. It was just Kenshin, walking over to the well. Looking more depressed than ever. "Look!" she hissed to Tomoe. "Kenshin - I mean, Himura- san - is back!"
Tomoe bit her lip softly, then stood up and opened the door. Kaoru looked at her, surprised. "Tomoe? Is everything alright?"
Tomoe looked back at Kaoru, half out of the room already. "I believe Himura-san has had a bad night . . . I think I'll go talk to him for a while. You can make him some tea, I think he must be tired."
"Iie, maybe you should make tea instead . . ." her words fell onto a closed door.
Sighing, she got up and headed towards the kitchen.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Kenshin trudged along to the well. Sighing an internal sigh no one could hear, he drew up a pail of cold, clear water.
He picked up the small washcloth that hung on a rusty nail every time he went on an assignment. Dipping the washcloth in water, he wetted it and then slightly wrung it, stopping the nonstop thin flow into a series of slowly paced drips and drops. Kenshin softly wiped his face, slightly grimacing behind the old white cloth as the icy water stung on his scar, which had started bleeding tonight again.
He was about to dip the cloth back in the water, but he stopped. The white cloth was now a deep red, stained with his own blood from the scar as well as the blood of the five men he had just killed.
Tonight had been particularly bad. It seemed as if he saw blood everywhere. When his katana ripped through the first man, he had almost collapsed in disgust, a sudden extremely sharp taste of blood had rushed into his mouth.
Blood, and the taste of white plums.
Kenshin inhaled, and dunked his entire head into the bucket to ward off the taste appearing in his mouth again. He took his head out, and finally exhaled. Water was dripping off his high ponytail. He twisted his dark crimson hair, and watched the water sink into the thirsty ground.
Even though his dark blue gi was soaked through with water that chilled him to the bone, Kenshin felt relieved. At least that scent of blood was gone.
But wait . . . that scent of white plum blossoms seemed to filled the air . . . that scent was so familiar . . . "Kaoru-san?" he muttered softly, and turned around.
Standing five feet from him, pale white yukata billowing in the breeze, was Tomoe.
Startled, Kenshin politely said, "Evening, Yukishiro-san."
Tomoe said nothing. Instead, she walked forward and rinsed the cloth. Kenshin watched, speechless, as she emptied the bucket and refilled it. "Uh, arigato gozaimasu, Yukishiro-san, uh . . ."
"You have blood in your gi. I'll wash it for you. Go change and I'll wash it for you, as well as your hakama."
Kenshin's amber-tinted lavender eyes widened. "Ara?"
Tomoe's expression didn't change at all. "Change, Himura-san."
Kenshin felt himself sweatdropping. Imagine this, the great Hitokiri Battousai, getting bossed around by a woman! "Iie, it's alright . . ."
Tomoe's face was the same, but Kenshin was positive her scarlet eyes glinted dangerously. "Go. Now," she said in a soft, calm, but nonetheless somewhat scary voice.
"Well, my clothes are upstairs, I have to go get them, so I'll just stay up there . . ."
Tomoe handed Kenshin a bundle. "Here, these were laid out, I believe that you planned to change into these." She pointed to the bathhouse. "Go change, now."
Kenshin trudged off. Thank god everyone else was asleep, if Iizuka saw him now, he would be teased all the way to the 21st century.
In the bathhouse, he took off his soaking blue gi and bloodstained gray hakama to change into the bundle Tomoe had handed him: a pink gi and a white hakama.
Kenshin groaned. He avoided wearing this gi whenever it was possible. Okami had given it to him, and even though she insisted that it was "magenta", there was no doubt in Kenshin's mind that this gi was unmistakably pink. Imagine all this in one night: the feared Hitokiri Battousai getting bossed around by a woman and wearing pink! Pink!
He changed into the outfit, making sure that his hakama was on all right. Then, he walked out to the well again.
Tomoe gave him a look and nodded. "This looks good, better than that blood stained article of a rag you were wearing." She held out her hand. "Clothing, please."
Almost embarrassed that a woman would be washing out the bloodstains, Kenshin handed over his gi and hakama. "Gomen for the trouble . . ."
Tomoe started scrubbing the gi. "It's the least I could do. Stay awhile. I think Kaoru will be bringing some tea for you."
Kenshin was thoroughly bewildered. This was more contact with women than he had ever had in his entire life! He didn't really want to stay, but he didn't want to risk the cold glint in Tomoe's eyes again. He shuddered. Now he knew what Hiko was talking about when he said that women held the ultimate power. He'd rather take on the Shinsengumi any day rather than see what Tomoe was capable of if he didn't listen to her.
He sat down on the edge of the well, propping his katana against his knee. He watched Tomoe scrub the gi in a steady rhythm.
Tomoe started speaking. "Tell me, Himura-san, tell me, why did you become a hitokiri?"
Kenshin nearly fell into the well at this question. No one, not even Okami, had asked him this. "Uh, well, I . . ."
"Tell me."
Kenshin grinned weakly in an attempt to draw Tomoe's attention away from this question. "Are you like a spy for a group of battousai-haters or something?" he said, trying to joke.
His grin faltered at a glare from Tomoe.
He sighed. "Alright, alright." He sighed and started. "When I was fourteen, I wanted to help Japan's peoples. My master, Hiko Seijuuro, wouldn't let me go . . . well, anyways, I met Katsura . . . and he recruited me as a hitokiri . . . well, because I qualified and all."
There was a few moment's silence. "So why are you doing this anyways?"
Kenshin thought for a second. "Well, to bring on a new era. Isn't that what we're all fighting for?"
Tomoe simply kept scrubbing.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
Kaoru looked in at the fire. Nice and hot. She put the kettle onto the fire and waited.
Outside, she heard the splash of water. Curiously, she opened the door towards the backyard - where the well was - just a little, and peeked out. The sight startled her so much she almost fell forward onto her face.
Young, tense Kenshin, always looking as if he was ready to whip out his katana and spear through a few people, was propped casually on the well, wearing a magenta gi, the same as the one the rurouni she knew wore. His katana, usually closely carried with him, was lying on the floor, unguarded. And his eyes, usually wary, sharp, and angry, were softened into a gentle gaze.
"Himura-san," she heard Tomoe say softly, her voice carried by the wind, "don't you ever miss the days . . . before the bakumatsu?"
For a few seconds, Kaoru could only hear silence, and then, Kenshin's voice: "I suppose . . . but I am helping the people of Japan gain equality, and I am glad I could do something to help bring on a new era."
Another silence. And then: "Haven't you ever felt guilty about killing . . . ever?"
A pause. And then, mournfully, "Every time, I feel guilty. Every night, I can see the faces of those whose deaths I've caused."
Another pause. "There were some people that made me wonder: what is my right to kill them? Aren't they merely people seeking happiness? Once, this one man serving as a bodyguard was looking forward to his paycheck, coming that day, which would allow him to buy some medicine for his aging mother. Another time, a shogunate government official was going home to celebrate his only son's coming of age."
Another pause. "And once, there was this man who was looking forward to marrying his childhood sweetheart. I . . . when I fought him, I could tell that he had meager swords skills, but his will to live . . . was incredible . . . he really wanted to return to her."
A cloud passed, showering moonlight upon the two. Kaoru could clearly see Tomoe and Kenshin: Tomoe with a softened expression, and Kenshin with a look of sorrow.
"Himura-san," Kaoru heard Tomoe say softly, "Who was that man who was going to marry his sweetheart?"
Kenshin seemed surprised by that question. "Uh, his name . . . I think it was Kiya . . . no, Kyosato. He had black hair in a high ponytail, was somewhat taller than me . . . why?"
Tomoe continued without answering. "And you felt sorry for him?"
Kenshin looked down at his fidgeting fingers. "I simply wished him happiness in his next life."
"And his childhood sweetheart?"
"I hope . . . whoever she is, wherever she may be, that she too could find happiness . . ."
A silence ensued. Then, finally, Tomoe broke the sweltering silence by dumping out the water in the bucket. She handed Kenshin two wet bundles. "All done, Himura-san." And for the first time ever, Kaoru saw Tomoe's lips break out into a smile. It was for only a fleeting moment, but it was there.
Kenshin took it, and straightened himself up. His face returned to that of Battousai. "Gomen, Yukishiro-san, for being so informal."
"Please, call me Tomoe."
"Hai . . . Tomoe-san." And once again, though brief, his eyes seemed to be like the rurouni's eyes that Kaoru knew so well.
Sudden realization flowed through Kaoru. She quietly closed the door, feeling extremely guilty that she had looked in upon them.
How stupid she was! Kaoru felt like a complete baka. How could she have despised Tomoe so much? It was she who calmed Kenshin's heart, she who gave Kaoru, ten years later, the rurouni she had loved so much. Without Tomoe, there would be no Kenshin. Kenshin needed Tomoe.
Suddenly, Kaoru knew what to do. She sprinted back up the stairs. She shouldn't be here, disturbing what was right. Kenshin and Tomoe belonged together; no matter how hard Kaoru could try, she couldn't be Tomoe, and Tomoe . . . Tomoe is what Kenshin needs right now. She has to go back to her time.
What was it that the fairy godmother said? 'This is a time backer . . . just pull out the stick.'
Reaching the bedroom, she pulled open the drawer that she kept the time backer in. She took one last look around the room. Tomoe, I'll leave the rest up to you. I'm sorry I had done this. Kenshin is in your hands now.
And with that, her grabbed the time backer to go back to her time.
Horrified, Kaoru swept her fingers around the drawer, the moonlight sweeping upon the smooth wood, illuminating exactly what Kaoru feared.
It wasn't there.
[a/n: I'm sry if it seems as if Tomoe and Kenshin's behavior are just so atypical. I just didn't want to write ten more chapters to have Tomoe stop really hating Kenshin that much. =) after all, originally, I meant to have this story be really really short. =) gomen!]
:: chapter 8 ::
Kaoru turned over again. For some reason, she couldn't submerge herself into dreamland, however much she wanted to. It was like there was something tugging away at her heart, making sleep impossible.
She sat up, twisting her long, thick braid behind her, brushing her bangs out of her face. It's because of Kenshin. Even though she knew that he wasn't going to get hurt, she just couldn't seem to be satisfied.
A slight tossing from Tomoe's futon startled Kaoru. From the moonlight sifting through the window, Kaoru noticed that Tomoe's eyes had fluttered open. "Gomen nasai!" Kaoru said in a low voice. "I didn't mean to wake you."
Tomoe also sat up, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face. "It's alright. I couldn't fall asleep either. It just . . . I don't know, I guess I'm wor . . . I mean, apprehensive because of . . . since Himura-san is going out on his . . . assignment . . . and all."
"Not that I have . . . really care that much . . . about him," Tomoe added hastily, seeing Kaoru's eyebrow rise into a high arch. Kaoru could swear that for that one moment, cool and collected Tomoe was actually flustered!
Kaoru walked up to then window, pushing it open. A warm gust of air, scented like blossoms, blew into the small room. "Hot night tonight."
A shadow moved. Kaoru rubbed her eyes and looked again. No, it wasn't a shadow. It was just Kenshin, walking over to the well. Looking more depressed than ever. "Look!" she hissed to Tomoe. "Kenshin - I mean, Himura- san - is back!"
Tomoe bit her lip softly, then stood up and opened the door. Kaoru looked at her, surprised. "Tomoe? Is everything alright?"
Tomoe looked back at Kaoru, half out of the room already. "I believe Himura-san has had a bad night . . . I think I'll go talk to him for a while. You can make him some tea, I think he must be tired."
"Iie, maybe you should make tea instead . . ." her words fell onto a closed door.
Sighing, she got up and headed towards the kitchen.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Kenshin trudged along to the well. Sighing an internal sigh no one could hear, he drew up a pail of cold, clear water.
He picked up the small washcloth that hung on a rusty nail every time he went on an assignment. Dipping the washcloth in water, he wetted it and then slightly wrung it, stopping the nonstop thin flow into a series of slowly paced drips and drops. Kenshin softly wiped his face, slightly grimacing behind the old white cloth as the icy water stung on his scar, which had started bleeding tonight again.
He was about to dip the cloth back in the water, but he stopped. The white cloth was now a deep red, stained with his own blood from the scar as well as the blood of the five men he had just killed.
Tonight had been particularly bad. It seemed as if he saw blood everywhere. When his katana ripped through the first man, he had almost collapsed in disgust, a sudden extremely sharp taste of blood had rushed into his mouth.
Blood, and the taste of white plums.
Kenshin inhaled, and dunked his entire head into the bucket to ward off the taste appearing in his mouth again. He took his head out, and finally exhaled. Water was dripping off his high ponytail. He twisted his dark crimson hair, and watched the water sink into the thirsty ground.
Even though his dark blue gi was soaked through with water that chilled him to the bone, Kenshin felt relieved. At least that scent of blood was gone.
But wait . . . that scent of white plum blossoms seemed to filled the air . . . that scent was so familiar . . . "Kaoru-san?" he muttered softly, and turned around.
Standing five feet from him, pale white yukata billowing in the breeze, was Tomoe.
Startled, Kenshin politely said, "Evening, Yukishiro-san."
Tomoe said nothing. Instead, she walked forward and rinsed the cloth. Kenshin watched, speechless, as she emptied the bucket and refilled it. "Uh, arigato gozaimasu, Yukishiro-san, uh . . ."
"You have blood in your gi. I'll wash it for you. Go change and I'll wash it for you, as well as your hakama."
Kenshin's amber-tinted lavender eyes widened. "Ara?"
Tomoe's expression didn't change at all. "Change, Himura-san."
Kenshin felt himself sweatdropping. Imagine this, the great Hitokiri Battousai, getting bossed around by a woman! "Iie, it's alright . . ."
Tomoe's face was the same, but Kenshin was positive her scarlet eyes glinted dangerously. "Go. Now," she said in a soft, calm, but nonetheless somewhat scary voice.
"Well, my clothes are upstairs, I have to go get them, so I'll just stay up there . . ."
Tomoe handed Kenshin a bundle. "Here, these were laid out, I believe that you planned to change into these." She pointed to the bathhouse. "Go change, now."
Kenshin trudged off. Thank god everyone else was asleep, if Iizuka saw him now, he would be teased all the way to the 21st century.
In the bathhouse, he took off his soaking blue gi and bloodstained gray hakama to change into the bundle Tomoe had handed him: a pink gi and a white hakama.
Kenshin groaned. He avoided wearing this gi whenever it was possible. Okami had given it to him, and even though she insisted that it was "magenta", there was no doubt in Kenshin's mind that this gi was unmistakably pink. Imagine all this in one night: the feared Hitokiri Battousai getting bossed around by a woman and wearing pink! Pink!
He changed into the outfit, making sure that his hakama was on all right. Then, he walked out to the well again.
Tomoe gave him a look and nodded. "This looks good, better than that blood stained article of a rag you were wearing." She held out her hand. "Clothing, please."
Almost embarrassed that a woman would be washing out the bloodstains, Kenshin handed over his gi and hakama. "Gomen for the trouble . . ."
Tomoe started scrubbing the gi. "It's the least I could do. Stay awhile. I think Kaoru will be bringing some tea for you."
Kenshin was thoroughly bewildered. This was more contact with women than he had ever had in his entire life! He didn't really want to stay, but he didn't want to risk the cold glint in Tomoe's eyes again. He shuddered. Now he knew what Hiko was talking about when he said that women held the ultimate power. He'd rather take on the Shinsengumi any day rather than see what Tomoe was capable of if he didn't listen to her.
He sat down on the edge of the well, propping his katana against his knee. He watched Tomoe scrub the gi in a steady rhythm.
Tomoe started speaking. "Tell me, Himura-san, tell me, why did you become a hitokiri?"
Kenshin nearly fell into the well at this question. No one, not even Okami, had asked him this. "Uh, well, I . . ."
"Tell me."
Kenshin grinned weakly in an attempt to draw Tomoe's attention away from this question. "Are you like a spy for a group of battousai-haters or something?" he said, trying to joke.
His grin faltered at a glare from Tomoe.
He sighed. "Alright, alright." He sighed and started. "When I was fourteen, I wanted to help Japan's peoples. My master, Hiko Seijuuro, wouldn't let me go . . . well, anyways, I met Katsura . . . and he recruited me as a hitokiri . . . well, because I qualified and all."
There was a few moment's silence. "So why are you doing this anyways?"
Kenshin thought for a second. "Well, to bring on a new era. Isn't that what we're all fighting for?"
Tomoe simply kept scrubbing.
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
Kaoru looked in at the fire. Nice and hot. She put the kettle onto the fire and waited.
Outside, she heard the splash of water. Curiously, she opened the door towards the backyard - where the well was - just a little, and peeked out. The sight startled her so much she almost fell forward onto her face.
Young, tense Kenshin, always looking as if he was ready to whip out his katana and spear through a few people, was propped casually on the well, wearing a magenta gi, the same as the one the rurouni she knew wore. His katana, usually closely carried with him, was lying on the floor, unguarded. And his eyes, usually wary, sharp, and angry, were softened into a gentle gaze.
"Himura-san," she heard Tomoe say softly, her voice carried by the wind, "don't you ever miss the days . . . before the bakumatsu?"
For a few seconds, Kaoru could only hear silence, and then, Kenshin's voice: "I suppose . . . but I am helping the people of Japan gain equality, and I am glad I could do something to help bring on a new era."
Another silence. And then: "Haven't you ever felt guilty about killing . . . ever?"
A pause. And then, mournfully, "Every time, I feel guilty. Every night, I can see the faces of those whose deaths I've caused."
Another pause. "There were some people that made me wonder: what is my right to kill them? Aren't they merely people seeking happiness? Once, this one man serving as a bodyguard was looking forward to his paycheck, coming that day, which would allow him to buy some medicine for his aging mother. Another time, a shogunate government official was going home to celebrate his only son's coming of age."
Another pause. "And once, there was this man who was looking forward to marrying his childhood sweetheart. I . . . when I fought him, I could tell that he had meager swords skills, but his will to live . . . was incredible . . . he really wanted to return to her."
A cloud passed, showering moonlight upon the two. Kaoru could clearly see Tomoe and Kenshin: Tomoe with a softened expression, and Kenshin with a look of sorrow.
"Himura-san," Kaoru heard Tomoe say softly, "Who was that man who was going to marry his sweetheart?"
Kenshin seemed surprised by that question. "Uh, his name . . . I think it was Kiya . . . no, Kyosato. He had black hair in a high ponytail, was somewhat taller than me . . . why?"
Tomoe continued without answering. "And you felt sorry for him?"
Kenshin looked down at his fidgeting fingers. "I simply wished him happiness in his next life."
"And his childhood sweetheart?"
"I hope . . . whoever she is, wherever she may be, that she too could find happiness . . ."
A silence ensued. Then, finally, Tomoe broke the sweltering silence by dumping out the water in the bucket. She handed Kenshin two wet bundles. "All done, Himura-san." And for the first time ever, Kaoru saw Tomoe's lips break out into a smile. It was for only a fleeting moment, but it was there.
Kenshin took it, and straightened himself up. His face returned to that of Battousai. "Gomen, Yukishiro-san, for being so informal."
"Please, call me Tomoe."
"Hai . . . Tomoe-san." And once again, though brief, his eyes seemed to be like the rurouni's eyes that Kaoru knew so well.
Sudden realization flowed through Kaoru. She quietly closed the door, feeling extremely guilty that she had looked in upon them.
How stupid she was! Kaoru felt like a complete baka. How could she have despised Tomoe so much? It was she who calmed Kenshin's heart, she who gave Kaoru, ten years later, the rurouni she had loved so much. Without Tomoe, there would be no Kenshin. Kenshin needed Tomoe.
Suddenly, Kaoru knew what to do. She sprinted back up the stairs. She shouldn't be here, disturbing what was right. Kenshin and Tomoe belonged together; no matter how hard Kaoru could try, she couldn't be Tomoe, and Tomoe . . . Tomoe is what Kenshin needs right now. She has to go back to her time.
What was it that the fairy godmother said? 'This is a time backer . . . just pull out the stick.'
Reaching the bedroom, she pulled open the drawer that she kept the time backer in. She took one last look around the room. Tomoe, I'll leave the rest up to you. I'm sorry I had done this. Kenshin is in your hands now.
And with that, her grabbed the time backer to go back to her time.
Horrified, Kaoru swept her fingers around the drawer, the moonlight sweeping upon the smooth wood, illuminating exactly what Kaoru feared.
It wasn't there.
[a/n: I'm sry if it seems as if Tomoe and Kenshin's behavior are just so atypical. I just didn't want to write ten more chapters to have Tomoe stop really hating Kenshin that much. =) after all, originally, I meant to have this story be really really short. =) gomen!]