Disclamer: let me guess...... Rurouni Kenshin is not mine? ¬ ¬
A/N: Well, this chappie wasn't in yesterday... but here it is today =P please take a lil minute to review it ;_____; any suggestions, critics, ideas are very very very welcome ^_^x !!!
Dianinha, thanx for always checking my chappies out! Really!!!
Oh, and I'll be sure to check out the stories of all you people that places reviews signed in! (^-^x) thanx again!
Chapter 4Katsumi walked in, passed Kenshin and waited as he closed the gate once more. He looked back at her and smiled sweetly, doing his best to make her feel welcome. She briefly smiled back, that same smile that never reached her eyes, and turned her gaze to the ground once more. There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Is something wrong?" he finnally asked, braking the silence and looking down into her eyes.
"No, sorry." She said, smilling up at him in an attempt to show that everything was really alright. "Tae gave me a moment off and I just...... I thought..... I should come here and thank you..... you know, for this morning's incident..." she stuttered.
Kenshin smiled his famous rurouni smile, "You shouldn't have worried. I told you it was nothing..." he said as they walked to the front porch and set down side by side on the steps.
"I know, but I had to. I want to pay you back for the tofu... but, you see... I don't really have any money of my own yet." She explained.
"Oh, noooo no, I couldn't possibly – " he began, but she interrupted him, putting her hand up.
"So..." she went on. At that, she reached for the back of her neck and pulled out a delicate silver chain with a moon hanging from it. "I want you to take this."
"Er... I'm honoured, trully... but....... I really don't it'll look very good on me..." he said with a sweatdrop and a croocked smile.
"Please take it, it is important. This small chain was my mothers." She added, looking straight into his eyes so that he caught the importance of it.
The information really did get to him, as if he was punched on the face. He looked back at her and struggled for words.
"I... I can't. A piece of tofu is just not worth a piece of jewelry such as this, one that means so much to you."
"No, its not..... but your actions were. And I believe.... that it does belong to you, as much as it does to me." She said, and this time she smiled at him, a genuine smile, a smile that came from inside.
He looked at her and thought her smile to be the most generous, sweet, familiar smile he had ever seen. It felt as if he knew her his whole life, as if he was looking down at himself when he wasn't yet corrupted or committed all those murders.
He wanted to hold her, to protect her and be there for her like he had never been before. He smiled back at her, but he was really smiling to hmself; he was finnally sure of who she was.
After such an intense moment, Katsumi and Kenshin seemed to have completely broken the ice. Even so, she still wouldn't say who she really was and he wasn't about to force her to do it. He knew the time would come.
"Would you please stay for lunch Miss Katsumi?" he asked her.
She looked at him for a moment, he saw her going red around the ears. Finnally, she burst out laughing as if he had just said the funniest thing ever.
"Oro???" he blinked.
"Your not SERIOUSLY calling me 'Miss" are you?????? Hahahahahahaha"
"Er.... I.... its just a matter of respect Miss Katsumi.... I can't really help it...." he said, blushing and scratching the back of his head.
"Well.... don't do it." She said, still giggling.
"I'll try, but its only appropriate you know..." he said blushing and looking up at the tree leaves as if fascinated by them.
At that she patted him on the shoulder. "We really don't need that kind of formality between us Kenshin..."
As if in queue, Kaoru had walked out and heard that one last sentence from Katsumi, which was enough to make her jump into conclusions. She closed her eyes tightly and started counting up to ten in her head. Kenshin and Katsumi obviously sensed her there and looked back at her.
"Oh hello Kaoru!" Katsumi greeted, unnaware that in Kaoru's mind, she had her neck tied up to a tree.
"Good afternoon Katsumi." She said in a strangely, unnatural sweet voice.
"Miss Katsumi will be joining us for lunch Kaoru-Dono. So I should probably get on with it." Kenshin said smiling. Katsumi rolled her eyes at the how rediculous the word 'Miss' sounded before her name.
As Kenshin stood up, Kaoru put her hand on his shoulder urging him to stop. "No, Kenshin. Don't bother. IIIIIIIIIII will be making lunch today." She said with a wicked grin Kenshin had never thought to see upon her face. "Er, ok..." he said slowly, looking at her with a bewildered look on his face.
"Welcome to the Dojo Katsumi, I hope you enjoy lunch." She finnished and turned on her heals, back inside and on to the kitchen.
"Er.... uh....hmmmm... should I be worried right now?" Katsumi asked, still looking down the corridor Kaoru had gone.
"Oooooh no... don't worry." Kenshin said, more to himself then to the girl, trying and failing to convince them both.
Sano came by right on time for lunch. He saw Kenshin and Katsumi walking around the garden, tottally engaged in conversation. He walked up to them with a wide grin upon his face. "Oi, Kenshin!" He called out, waving his hand and trotting up to them. He came to a halt before them and looked down at Katsumi, wearing his most galant face.
"How are you Katsumi?" he asked her.
"I'm fine, thank you. Er... I'm sorry but... do I know you?" she asked him. Sano fell to the floor anime stile.
"This is a friend of ours Miss Katsumi, Sanosuke Sagara." Kenshin explained.
"But for you, I'm just Sano..." He said taking her hand. She giggled at that and said, "Well, pleased to meet you 'Sano'."
Kenshin arched a brow at his friend with a not-at-all-pleased look. Sano cought that and straighted up casually. "So, what brings you to the Dojo?" he asked her.
"Oh, I just stopped by to thank Kenshin for helping me this morning." She explained.
"Aaah, I heard all about THAT story..." he said, placing his hands on his pockets.
"Aaaand she is joining us for lunch... you know... she was 'invited'." Added Kenshin. Sano looked at him with an appalled look. "HEY! What's THAT supposed to mean???" Sano shot back.
"Take a wild guess..." Kenshin rolled his eyes.
"Uhmmm... isn't that Kaoru calling us?" Katsumi interrupted, trying to avoid the fight that was certainly comming up. Sano ignored Kenshin's glare and put his arms around Katsumi's shoulder. "Well little lady... I hope you have a strong stomach. But if the worst should happen, you can always count on Sano here to take care of you..."
Kenshin had a hard time controlling his temper at that point, but decided on telling himself that Katsumi would know better then to fall for the street fighter's small talk and followed them into the house.
They were all sitting down around the table, with the exeption of Yahiko who had gone to the Akabeko to have lunch with Tsubame.
Katsumi was looking down at her plate, the food seemed to have a greenish, pale colour compaired with everyone else's. Kaoru was watching her closely with that same wicked smile on her face, urging her to eat every now and then. Katsumi looked up at Kenshin as if crying for help but he was too busy watching Sano trying to impress her every second.
In a desperate attempt to get out of there alive, Katsumi left the table with the excuse of going to get some more water. Sano, with the excuse that she wouldn't know were to find everything, followed her into the kitchen. Kenshin saw that Kaoru was too busy trying to listen to them and without her noticing, he swapped Katsumi's plate with Sano's.
The two teenagers walked back in carrying their glasses of water and sat back down. Katsumi noticed the change on the food's colour and decided to try it. True, it wasn't the best she ever had, (in fact, it was close to the worst) but at least it didn't taste deadly. Sano seemed to have noticed the change on his food as well. He looked up and saw Kenshin grinning sarcastically at him and looked back at his plate.
"Wont you eat your lunch Sano? I'm sure that Kaoru-Dono has put a lot of effort on preparing it for us..." he said, faking a sweet tone.
"I..... I don't wanna....." he said quietly, still looking down at the weird coloured food.
"Come on now, don't be rude..." Kenshin insisted.
"Thanks but... I'm not that hungry anymore..." he said, pushing the plate away.
"EAT!" Kenshin yelled, banging his fist on the table, causing everyone to to jump on their seats.
"Yes sir yes sir yes sir yes!" Sano said reppeatedly as he glomped down the food as fast as he could.
"Thats a good lad..." he said, his grin back upon his face.
That afternoon Katsumi was about to leave the Dojo. She thanked Kaoru for the meal and said goodbye to Sano. He was about to ask to walk her back to the Akabeko, but a look at Kenshin's face was enough to convince him otherwise.
Katsumi and Kenshin walked to the gate were they stood for a moment. Kenshin sensed that she wanted to say something, and he thought he knew exactly what it was.
"Kenshin... I.... there's something that..... um...." she stuttered.
"What is it Miss Katsumi?" he asked.
"That's it! Please don't call me like that, it's weird." Kenshin fell down anime stile. "Oroo..."
"Heh, thanks for everything, but I really have to go now. Bye!" She said as she walked away. Kenshin watched her go for a while and smiled to himself. Could life get any better? He lived with the most loving friends, a woman that he loved deeply, and now.... he had found the one family member that he had left. It was so good that it scared him.
* I can only hope never to wake up from this dream... *
He closed the gates behind him and walked back inside.
A/N: Well... I know, Kenshin is a bit OOC here =P but meh.... its a FAN FICTION isn't it xD hehehe...
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