Disclaimer: I own nothing… Blah blah blah… None of it is mine, I tell you! I swear! But if you want to give it to me, I'd be a very happy girl…
BTW, I also lay claim to Toshiro. Not that I want to, but…
Oh, and in this chapter, there's a bit of name calling in fluent French, if you catch my drift…
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Kaoru sat at the table in their private rooms, looking out at the forest. She sighed as a man came into her room. "Hello, Toshiro."
"Hello little bird. How are you?"
"You know, for some reason, I was thinking of that bastard Kenshin today." She said, crossing the room to the finely dressed man. She wore a beautiful violet kimono with a purple obi. Her hair was pulled back elaborately with combs and her lips were tainted a dark red.
Her arms snaked up around his neck and he pulled her closer, their lips touching. Suddenly, she pulled back, putting a hand to her forehead.
"Kaoru, are you alright?" He wrapped an arm around her and seated her back at the table.
"Yes, I think so. I suddenly felt very ill." She gazed into his dark eyes.
"It's alright, my love. You seemed a little unwell today."
"Per haps it is only because I am thinking if Kenshin." Hatred blazed in her eyes.
"Ahh. Speaking of Kenshin, Min has informed me that he and his friends are here. They want you back, Kaoru." He whispered.
Her lip curled slightly. "I'd like to see them try to take me back."
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"Miss Min, is it?" Sano looked at the woman who had brought up breakfast. She appeared to be in her late twenties. He looked at Yahiko, who slept soundly. Sano had to resist the urge to kick him awake. Kenshin was in the bathroom.
"No sir, you shouldn't call me miss. I am only your servant, to you I am Min."
"Nah, I think I'll still call you Miss Min. No harm in it, although it sounds a little strange… How much is it costing us to stay here, anyway?" He looked out the window of the room.
"Not much at all, if anything. You see, while you are not welcome in Lord Toshiro's home, he is willing to let you stay for no cost." She bowed.
"What the hell? Not welcome in Toshiro's home you say? And why is that?"
"Because, Sanosuke-san, he believes you are here to take away his Kaoru."
"His Kaoru? If anything, she's Kenshin's Kaoru." Sanosuke fumed.
A disoriented cry came from the bathroom. "Sano, we've been over this!"
"You may be right, but may I please talk to your wife?" Min looked up at him. Though Sanosuke was abnormally tall, this woman seemed even smaller than Kenshin.
He blushed. "My… Wife? Oh, you mean Megumi. We're not married. But yeah, hold on." He got up and went to bring the doctor back to her room, kicking Yahiko in the head as he left.
The boy groaned and looked at the smiling woman dishing out rice. "Hi, uhh…"
"Min." The woman smiled. "Who might you be??"
"Oh. I'm Yahiko." He said as Kenshin came out of the bath and Megumi and Sano walked in.
"Sanosuke said you wanted to see me?" Megumi looked at the servant. Min smiled.
"Yes." She stood and whispered something into her ear.
They ate breakfast quickly while Min waited outside, saying when they were done, she would take them to Kaoru. All of them decided that, since Megumi wasn't telling them what Min had whispered to her, they would just ignore it. When Megumi thought it right to tell someone what was on her mind, it was definitely the right time.
Kenshin didn't eat; he simply sat at the table, lost in thought. Toshiro … Where had he heard that name before?
The others were now done, so they stood and followed Min down the hallway. They entered a room and she led them into a closet that had a hidden door, which opened to a large flight of stairs. Min produced a candle, and the five walked on in silence. After what seemed at least 1,000,000 stairs, they found a long hallway. At the end, there was a large wooden door.
Min opened it and stepped aside, allowing them to enter. She lit a few more candles, casting a pale light around the room.
A woman stood up from where she had been seated. It was Kaoru.
"Please, sit." She said.
They obliged quickly while Min retreated to a dark corner.
"Sake, anyone?" Kaoru asked sweetly.
"No thank you, we all just had breakfast." Megumi said coldly before anyone else could speak. Sano looked a little annoyed, but said nothing.
Kenshin, however, could no longer contain himself. "Kaoru, how can you be so calm?" He hissed.
"Oh, I see." Her smile faded. "Do you know how long I have waited to scream at you, to just get it through your head that you were such a bastard? Of course, I try to be nice to you, but you just ask me why I'm just sitting here and won't run away with you?"
"What?" Kenshin stared at her.
"Oh, right. You just play it innocent. I'll refresh your memory. Almost a year ago, I came out here to see an uncle. You were supposed to come and get me, but you waited a whole damn year to come. How long did you think I wanted to stay? Forever?" She yelled. "Well, it's to late for you now, I've found some one I love more than you."
"You little bitch!" Sano yelled at her. "Kenshin loves you more than you know and this is how you repay him?"
"Yeah Kaoru! Look at your hands for just a second and you'll see some word calluses. I doubt Toshiro let you practice swordsmanship here, but if you say it's been a year, why do you still have sword calluses?" Kaoru stood up and slapped him.
"Foolish little children shouldn't mettle in matters they know nothing about." She hissed.
Suddenly, a man stood up from near where Min sat.
"Alright, Kaoru. It's my turn." A handsome and finely dressed man walked over to them. Kaoru smiled at him, but could feel her insides clenching.
"Toshiro." Kenshin whispered. "I understand now why she thinks she hates me."
"You do, do you? Well, I can't say that it's very hard to figure out. However, she will remain as she is forever. Unless, of course, you kill her. There is no way to break the spell under which she is placed. But come, you must introduce me to your friends." He smiled. He enjoyed speaking about Kaoru as though she was not there, for even if she did figure out what was going on, she shouldn't be able to break the spell.
"During the revolution, there was a Shogunate employee named Hayashikawa Toshio. He was this Toshiro's father and a master of powdered poisons. He also was very good at mixing gunpowder and making bombs." Kenshin said darkly.
"But Himura, why not tell them what you did to me? Very well, I will myself." He looked at Sano, Megumi and Yahiko. "Your little Kenshin killed my family."
"You liar!" Yahiko yelled. "Kenshin would never ever do something like that!"
"Perhaps Kenshin wouldn't, but the Battousai would." Toshiro answered snidely.
"Toshiro, my orders were to kill your father and anyone who stood in my way. I am not proud to have killed your family, especially not in front of you. I told you that I would have killed you so you might join them, but you told me you wished to live. I left you there because I had no other use for you. You are a fool to think that after all these years, I would come to you and kill you now that you have lived your life. "
"Silence!" Toshiro screamed, making the others jump slightly. Tears were glinting in his eyes, but a malicious smile was on his face.
The two looked at each other, hatred in ones eyes, pity and anger in the others. Toshiro handed Kenshin a letter. "Don't read this until tomorrow night. It will only be useful then."
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Wow! Yet another chapter completed. I feel so proud! ^_^ OK, I need to finish the rest, but a few reviews would speed things up!
Yeah… I just got the first chapter of my other Kenshin fic up, so that makes me happy. Yes, thank you, O loyal reviewers! You make me happy when skies are gray, you'll never know dears, how much I love you, so please don't- * Voice cracks* Ahem, yes, well it's- WHAT??? 12:30 AT NIGHT???? - and I'm slap-happy… so I'll dance around my room and sing weird old songs and listen to my cat snore and eat potato chips and crackseed and finish my coke.. OK, maybe I'm on a sugar high, but just hit the review button down there and there'll be no more terrible singing.