Puppeteers
Note: Okay... this was actually going to be the 11th chapter... The tenth chapter was going to be something else... but someone has my disk, and I have to wait to get it done until Monday. It's not going to change the events... I kinda prefer this chapter to happen first as the tenth chapter, and 'I Remember' as the eleventh... Another little interlude...
Disclaimer: THIRD verse, same as the first freakin' two. NOT MINE!
Poppy2- Um... well... as is going to be said in this chapter... and I've actually mentioned before... Kaoru's 'love' for Hiro isn't sudden at all... She's known Kenshin for 10 months, and the traditional period for courtship is a year... So... the courtship actually began two months before Kenshin even showed up. Meaning... yeah, Kaoru wasn't just spontaneously falling for him- she knew him long before she met Kenshin.
(((((((((())))))))))
Chapter Ten- Irritation (Yahiko's Interlude)
I kicked a rock.
It scuttled off ahead of me, and I followed it slowly. Kaoru was working at the Aoiya with Misao, watching her cook and calmly sweeping the floors.
She was such a... There wasn't a word to describe her stupidity. She had left Kenshin on that stupid mountain, come back to the Aoiya, where Kenshin had taken us before he'd left for said mountain. She had a fiancée, who I didn't like, and there was a man who was in love with her, who she was...
Like I said. No words to describe her.
I kicked the rock again.
And Kenshin wasn't too much better. He'd confessed his love for her... and then left her there. She followed him all the way to this god-forsaken, stupid city, and he leaves her again! I bit back a growl of frustration. I didn't understand adults.
I knew what they should do, and I was ten! They couldn't figure it out... Kaoru, whether she knew it or not, had fallen for the rurouni long before Hiro had come to end their courtship and begin the engagement.
I kicked the rock.
Kaoru had never even mentioned that she had someone courting her... A year for courting... and Kenshin had met her ten months before Hiro showed up... She had never said anything.
I picked up the damn rock and threw it with all my strength. "It's so damn stupid!" I yelled, attracting strange stares from other people, who quickly hurried away from me.
And how dare Hiro just show up? Leave the girl behind to face all the crap that came her way... and then just show up one day when their courtship ended. It hadn't even been a real courtship!
I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I jumped, looking up. "S-Sanosuke!" I cried, jumping back.
The fighter grinned at me. "Hey, kid."
I glared daggers at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "What are you doing here, hmm? You got Kaoru here, right?"
I kicked at the dirt. "She brought me. Aoshi's coming here for Kenshin, and she decided she had to warn him."
His eyebrows rose. "Is that all?"
"That's all she said."
He nodded slowly. "Have you seen Kenshin yet?"
I nodded. "He went to see his teacher... to learn something... probably something for Shishio. He sent her back here."
His eyes glanced up the sky, which was darkening rapidly with storm clouds. "Where are you two staying?"
"The Aoiya... it's run by Aoshi's group here... only the larger group he came from, I think. They're pretty much against what he's doing... Kenshin met one of them on his way here, and she offered to take us in when he brought us back to her."
"Can you take me there?"
I nodded and led him toward the restaurant. "It's gonna storm... What took you so long to get here?"
He looked troubled. "I... had some... directional issues."
"You got lost."
"That's a bit harsh." He laughed, and then sobered quickly. "How long is Kenshin gonna be gone?"
"He wasn't sure," I replied slowly. "He said it may be a week or so..."
Sano looked at me as we stood in front of the restaurant. "He'd best hurry... things are gonna be bad..."
(((((((((())))))))))
Note: Whoo!!! ::hands out a full set of RK chibi dolls to all reviewers:: Thanks for the reviews! Please do so again!! ::hugs Hiro, whose eyes dart around the room quickly, muttering:: Poor Hiro's a bit schizophrenic now... afraid of anything moving... Poor guy won't sleep... ::lets him go and begins to walk around to each review, handing them random small objects:: Thumbscrews for some of you... others get the new tasers they're trying out here in exchange for guns... ::grins and walks toward the door:: Bye, Hiro!! Be well!! They'll take care of you!
Note: Okay... this was actually going to be the 11th chapter... The tenth chapter was going to be something else... but someone has my disk, and I have to wait to get it done until Monday. It's not going to change the events... I kinda prefer this chapter to happen first as the tenth chapter, and 'I Remember' as the eleventh... Another little interlude...
Disclaimer: THIRD verse, same as the first freakin' two. NOT MINE!
Poppy2- Um... well... as is going to be said in this chapter... and I've actually mentioned before... Kaoru's 'love' for Hiro isn't sudden at all... She's known Kenshin for 10 months, and the traditional period for courtship is a year... So... the courtship actually began two months before Kenshin even showed up. Meaning... yeah, Kaoru wasn't just spontaneously falling for him- she knew him long before she met Kenshin.
(((((((((())))))))))
Chapter Ten- Irritation (Yahiko's Interlude)
I kicked a rock.
It scuttled off ahead of me, and I followed it slowly. Kaoru was working at the Aoiya with Misao, watching her cook and calmly sweeping the floors.
She was such a... There wasn't a word to describe her stupidity. She had left Kenshin on that stupid mountain, come back to the Aoiya, where Kenshin had taken us before he'd left for said mountain. She had a fiancée, who I didn't like, and there was a man who was in love with her, who she was...
Like I said. No words to describe her.
I kicked the rock again.
And Kenshin wasn't too much better. He'd confessed his love for her... and then left her there. She followed him all the way to this god-forsaken, stupid city, and he leaves her again! I bit back a growl of frustration. I didn't understand adults.
I knew what they should do, and I was ten! They couldn't figure it out... Kaoru, whether she knew it or not, had fallen for the rurouni long before Hiro had come to end their courtship and begin the engagement.
I kicked the rock.
Kaoru had never even mentioned that she had someone courting her... A year for courting... and Kenshin had met her ten months before Hiro showed up... She had never said anything.
I picked up the damn rock and threw it with all my strength. "It's so damn stupid!" I yelled, attracting strange stares from other people, who quickly hurried away from me.
And how dare Hiro just show up? Leave the girl behind to face all the crap that came her way... and then just show up one day when their courtship ended. It hadn't even been a real courtship!
I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I jumped, looking up. "S-Sanosuke!" I cried, jumping back.
The fighter grinned at me. "Hey, kid."
I glared daggers at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "What are you doing here, hmm? You got Kaoru here, right?"
I kicked at the dirt. "She brought me. Aoshi's coming here for Kenshin, and she decided she had to warn him."
His eyebrows rose. "Is that all?"
"That's all she said."
He nodded slowly. "Have you seen Kenshin yet?"
I nodded. "He went to see his teacher... to learn something... probably something for Shishio. He sent her back here."
His eyes glanced up the sky, which was darkening rapidly with storm clouds. "Where are you two staying?"
"The Aoiya... it's run by Aoshi's group here... only the larger group he came from, I think. They're pretty much against what he's doing... Kenshin met one of them on his way here, and she offered to take us in when he brought us back to her."
"Can you take me there?"
I nodded and led him toward the restaurant. "It's gonna storm... What took you so long to get here?"
He looked troubled. "I... had some... directional issues."
"You got lost."
"That's a bit harsh." He laughed, and then sobered quickly. "How long is Kenshin gonna be gone?"
"He wasn't sure," I replied slowly. "He said it may be a week or so..."
Sano looked at me as we stood in front of the restaurant. "He'd best hurry... things are gonna be bad..."
(((((((((())))))))))
Note: Whoo!!! ::hands out a full set of RK chibi dolls to all reviewers:: Thanks for the reviews! Please do so again!! ::hugs Hiro, whose eyes dart around the room quickly, muttering:: Poor Hiro's a bit schizophrenic now... afraid of anything moving... Poor guy won't sleep... ::lets him go and begins to walk around to each review, handing them random small objects:: Thumbscrews for some of you... others get the new tasers they're trying out here in exchange for guns... ::grins and walks toward the door:: Bye, Hiro!! Be well!! They'll take care of you!