Title: Kaoru-dono & The Technicolor Dream Kimono
Author:mswyrr
Rating: PG
Summary: Kaoru POV. The story behind Kenshin and Kaoru's first date. Unrepentant fluff.
Author's note: I owe much thanks to WhiteAdelphi for her beta work and to Bachta for his invaluable research assistance (the man braved the wilds of Google for me!). They both deserve chocolate kisses with almonds.
-
This was a situation that required delicacy.
Kenshin had his meddling hands on her tofu tub. Kaoru could make a run for it, but that would be unsubtle. Indelicate. It would make him suspicious. Then he'd catch her, insist on coming along, and ruin her escape.
Didn't he realize that a girl needed to get away once in a while? Especially when the man she loved brushed her off at every chance and relentlessly ignored any opportunities they had of enjoying some time alone.
It was the weekend! The sakura trees were in bloom! Festivals were being held. Even little Yahiko knew enough to ask Tsubame for a stroll, but had Kenshin even once looked up from his cleaning and his cooking and his blank smiles and his acting like she didn't even exist? No!
Dunce.
Kenshin smiled sweetly, and tugged on the tub.
Did he really want to make her bop him on the head this time?
"Please don't trouble yourself, Kaoru-dono. Sessha will go shopping, that he will."
Not if she had anything to say about it. She held the tub tighter.
He pulled.
She drew it to her bosom.
He pulled again, looking puzzled. The bucket didn't budge.
Finally, with a gentle twist, he freed it from her hands.
Brute.
He smiled brightly, and turned to walk away.
She had to think fast! But what could she possibly...?
"Laundry!"
"Oro?" he said, turning to face her.
"Laundry, Kenshin" she said slowly, stepping closer. "It's been waiting for you," she purred.
He looked dazed. Seizing the opportunity, she snatched the tofu tub from his lax fingers.
"You do that, okay? I'll go shopping!" she chirped, and strode out of the yard triumphant.
Five Minutes Later
Kaoru sighed. She couldn't believe that, after all that, she had forgotten the lousy money. She took a deep breath, and peered over the dojo's fence. Kenshin was sitting on the porch, happily washing the laundry.
Creeping along the wall farthest from him, she climbed over, and froze.
Kenshin could sense ki! If she got any closer to the house, he would certainly know. Unless -- maybe it was just volatile ki he sensed? He hadn't been able to sense that Seta boy, right?
That was it. She just needed to be calm. Emotionless. She breathed deeply, and drew tranquility from nature. She would be like a stream, or a stone, or a tree.
That's it, she thought. Be a tree, be like a tree. . .
Thus Kamiya Kaoru snuck into her own home, swaying gently in the breeze.
Later, as she walked toward the market, the excitement of her escape and subsequent sneaking around left her. She stared glumly at the flowering trees, and kicked stones along the path.
Was it possible that Kenshin hadn't noticed pink trees everywhere? Or maybe the significance escaped him? He hadn't lead a traditional life; neither slaves nor manslayers nor penniless wanderers needed to know the finer points of courtship, and she couldn't see Hiko-san teaching such things to his student. Taking into account the way the man lived, he probably didn't even know them himself.
Kenshin didn't do much of anything like a regular man. Usually, she liked that about him. Maybe it was wrong of her to expect him to behave traditionally in this one area. Maybe she should just give in and tell him, but the very thought made her feel so undesirable.
What if he really didn't like her that way, and she told him, and he went along with it out of duty or just because he was such a sweet person...?
She frowned. This was exactly the kind of thinking that she was trying to get away from. It was just too awful to contemplate, and if she sat around all day with Kenshin and no Yahiko to teach or Sano to distract her with his rude talk, she was afraid she'd pickle herself in bitter thoughts.
She was sure Kenshin wouldn't notice until she'd assaulted the poor man with her bokken, and what good would that do?
She was smart, she was pretty, she was as gifted at kendo as Megumi was with medicine, and if Kenshin couldn't appreciate her, he was either A: Blind, B: Stupid, or C: Ridiculously Shy.
In an effort to stop feeling sorry for herself, Kaoru mentally chose option D: All of The Above, and grinned wickedly. Sometimes, uncharitable thoughts really did make a girl feel better about herself.
She walked the rest of the way with a spring in her step, and felt absurdly pleased with herself. Not just anyone could be springy in geta.
Couples strolled together at the market. Kaoru chatted amiably with the vendors, considered visiting Tae, and even tried to flirt with someone her own age once or twice.
After a while, she got tired of trying so hard to smile and say something cute while buying radishes. She ended up standing in the clothing vendor's area, admiring fabrics.
She hadn't bought a new kimono since before her students left her. It would probably surprise Megumi, but little tomboy Kaoru knew how to sew. Fabric was still expensive, though, and even if she made one herself, she knew she'd have to save for a little while longer to afford it.
She found a bolt of sky blue silk and pictured the kimono it could make. It could have a sakura pattern and be tastefully offset by a cream white obi embroidered with pink blossoms, and just the right touch of gold thread.
She loved how materials could compliment each other if you selected just the right arrangement, piece by piece.
In the midst of her enjoyment, she couldn't help thinking: if whole trees covered in blossoms were so unimportant they escaped his notice, what would it matter if she had a couple embroidered on her sleeve?
She ran her fingers over the silk, comforting herself with its texture, and replaced it on the shelf. She left before the proprietor could rebuke her for loitering.
She bought tofu, and carried it home with the vegetables she'd purchased earlier. It was a long walk.
At home she found the laundry drying, and Kenshin starting lunch in the kitchen. He thanked her for buying the food, and gave her a sideways glance as he chopped carrots.
"Sessha thought you might have forgotten to take your money, that he did."
"I didn't forget it," she said quickly, hoping he would leave it at that.
He hmm'ed casually, and started the rice.
She stood in the doorway, and stared. She watched the fine movements of his hands, and the way his ponytail swayed as he worked. She left the room blushing, only to march right back in a minute later.
"Kenshin," she snapped, catching his attention. He turned to look at her. She gritted her teeth. "Kenshin, I want to have a picnic tomorrow," she paused, "with you," she emphasized, "... amongst the blossoming sakura trees!" she finished, in a tone more suited to the phrase "pistols at dawn". Or a battoujutsu stance.
"That sounds nice, Kaoru-dono," he said, completely unruffled.
She stepped closer, eying him up. "Does that mean you'll go?"
"Of course. What would you like sessha to make for us to eat?"
She stepped forward and drew him into a hug, deftly avoiding getting skewered on his chopping knife. "As long as you're there," she said while she still felt brave, "I don't care what we have to eat, or even if I have to go hungry."
He put the knife down safely on the counter, and hugged her back.
He was warm and she could feel him breathing. He smelled like freshly chopped celery and laundry soap. She swayed a little with him and didn't let go until the rice boiled over.
-