Chapter 2: Sound of Snow Falling
Kaoru walked down the path that led from her dojo, where she was Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin fighting technique, to the main road to town. It was still snowing lightly, even though the sky overhead looked heavy and threatening as if holding back and giving a teasing hint of its full power. Some years, winter had gradually reintroduced itself to the world, while other years, it came as abrupt as a crashing wave upon the shore. 'You just never know,' thought Kaoru, again reminiscing about the beautiful day.
She looked to the trees to her left, sprinkled with snow. A cold wind swept down the path, causing Kaoru to clutch the collar of her outermost garment with one hand to keep out the icy gust, while grasping the basket she had brought to bring back the supplies in. After the gust abated, Kaoru loosened her grip and looked up at the falling snowflakes.
'Hmmm.....it's snowing a bit harder now. I hope it stays nice like this.' Kaoru kept walking down the straight path. She had decided to take this longer alternate way to town, since it was such a nice day. But now she was at the part of this alternate way that she disliked. The part she hated was the long straight path that led around the outskirts of the buildings and next to the woods.
'I hate this part of the walk.....something about this abandoned pathway puts me on edge....Oh well! I guess that the beauty of it outweighs my stupid skittish feelings of it.' She smiled to herself, proud that she had managed to put on her mask, and hide even from herself. Now she was almost to town, where she could pick up the needed supplies.
She hated to be alone, but sometimes, one needed time alone to remember personal memories and think to themselves.
'I wonder what Kenshin thinks about when it snows... I know his thoughts must not be pleasant, for he hasn't shared any of his memories regarding it. I saw the sad eyes behind his cheerful smile this morning. Does he think I don't see the sorrow in his eyes? Does he think I'm too naive to understand or see behind his mask?! I wish...,' Kaoru paused her thoughts for a moment, allowing a sigh to escape her lips, '.....I just hope that somehow..... someday, he can -' Kaoru's thoughts were stopped when another gust of wind swept by her, pushing her hair back from her face, slightly wetting it with snow. When she felt that the gust had passed, she opened her eyes, which were squinted closed, and looked around.
'It's quiet... really quiet..... And not a body in sight. Well, not that anybody ever travels this path much anyway. Ok, almost there, just a few more minutes -'
"Uuuggh!" Kaoru stumbled back slightly, wondering what, or who, had run into her.
"I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to startle you! My apologies!," said the man in front of Kaoru, bowing and picking up her dropped basket. Shocked, she took it back, still dumbfounded as she looked into his eyes; she couldn't decide if they were brown or black.
"I'm so sorry, Miss, but I'm in a hurry! Good day!," he said, placing a hand on each of Kaoru's shoulders, squeezing slightly as a friend would do to another friend as a show of comforting or apology. With one last bow of his head, the dark-clothed man ran off towards the nearest set of buildings.
Kaoru watched as the strange figure disappeared into an alley, away from Kaoru's sight and the pure white snow that sharply opposed his darkly-clad self. 'That was odd... for the second time today, I was so lost in my thoughts, that I failed to take notice of my surroundings! Even thought there was no real danger..... But I do wonder what that was about..... That man just crashed into me from the forest... how odd!' A frustrated Kaoru rubbed her sore left shoulder as she finally entered the town. 'I didn't realize he had hit me so hard..... This hurts a lot more than when Yahiko manages to get a swing in!'
Kaoru picked up the needed supplies from the shops that hadn't decided to close due to the worsening weather. Most of the shops were actually stalls set up outside, after all. Kaoru shivered as her teeth began to chatter. 'I think I should visit Tae and Tsubame and get some nice warm tea before heading out again,' thought Kaoru, heading for the Akabeko.
***
"Why, hello Kaoru! I'll be there in a minute for you!," said Tae as she passed with a tray of food for some waiting diners, upon seeing Kaoru enter. When it was cold out, it seemed that all the travelers and townspeople flocked to the nearest restaurant. In this case, the Akabeko had become very busy. It would clear out if it started really storming or got too freezing, though. That's how it always seemed to happen. Kaoru waited for Tae to return from attending tables to talk, her teeth still involuntarily chattering.
"My goodness, Kaoru! You must be chilled to the bone from walking outside and shopping in this cold weather. Even though it's nice for a change, it's still very cold!," said Tae quickly. Kaoru nodding in agreement before speaking.
"Yes, and it sure is beautiful back at the dojo..."
"I bet. Oh, would you like some tea before you head out again?" Kaoru just nodded. For some reason, she just didn't feel like talking much. Tae quickly retrieved some tea for her friend, and then continued to hold a mostly one-sided conversation while Kaoru sipped as quickly as she could on her hot tea. She felt warmed enough to leave after her first cup. She thought she had better head homewards soon so she wouldn't get caught in any severe weather. Sano had been right when he told her the weather would probably be worsening.
"Thank you, Tae. I need to be going now and get this food back to the three hungry males at the dojo," said Kaoru, trying to act nonchalant and more cheerful, for she hadn't been very conversational with Tae earlier.
"Okay. Get home safely, Kaoru... and soon! See you later, Kaoru." Kaoru turned at the doorframe to say goodbye, but found herself holding to it for support as a wave of dizziness overcame her. 'Uugh... maybe I turned around too quickly,' guessed Kaoru.
"Goodbye Tae!" Kaoru forced a smile as she was able to refocus on her friend. She then picked up her basket and turned to exit the door once more.
"Bye..... Oh, and Kaoru?!... Please make sure you hurry... you don't look so well..." With that, Tae disappeared to continue working.
Stepping into the cold outside world, Kaoru felt another wave of dizziness pass. 'That's odd..... Must be the cold and snow swirling around that's making me dizzy.' Kaoru headed back the same way she had come, even though it was much longer than the regular way, because she really didn't feel like being approached by anymore street salesmen and people rushing to their houses to get out of the cold. She was adamant about getting home.
By this time, it seemed that the snow was falling harder with every passing minute and the gusts of wind were now continually blowing snow about, before letting it fall finally to the icy ground. Not to mention that it was also bitterly cold now. Kaoru's body shivered as she trudged through the snow. Her kimono and outer layers, although warm, were not made for such harsh weather. Snow, yes; but snow storm, no.
'I just need to get back to the dojo as soon as I can. Then I can give the food to Kenshin and take the nice warm bath Yahiko hopefully prepared for my return. He better have!' Kaoru numbly headed down the long straight path next to the forest. She was now very cold: her nose was frozen, her hands bluish, and she couldn't even tell if she had toes anymore, they were that numb from the cold. Her breath came out in little white clouds with each exhalation of air. Odd waves of dizziness continued to come and go spontaneously.
Little did she know that a pair of eyes watched her intently, like a predator scoping out its prey. The dark eyes closed as the man's lips curled into a miniscule, sadistic smile. A single tear escaped the man's eye, freezing as it landed with the snow beneath it. His mind was laughing, knowing that his objective would soon be fulfilled. 'Such a pretty golden thread....' The man sighed. 'Oh well.....
'.....snip.....'
'.....snip.....'
'.....snip.....'
* * *
"Hey Kenshin!," yelled Sanosuke from across the dojo's yard. Kenshin looked up from helping Yahiko clean the wooden plank floors of the dojo.
"Hello Sano. What brings you here today?"
"Oh, nothing much..... Just dropping by," replied Sano, his hands in his pockets and his eyes roaming around at the falling snow.
"Yeah right, Sano! You just came by to freeload!," Yahiko snorted out.
"Hey, punk! I wasn't talking to you!," Sano retorted back. Sano folded his arms and grunted. 'Yes, he probably will be eating over, whether he's invited or not,' thought Kenshin, smiling to himself.
"Well, you are welcome to stay for dinner, Sano," Kenshin smartly intervened. 'Those two could fight for hours if not stopped. Same with Miss Kaoru..... Hmmm, I wonder where she could be.....'
"Yahiko, where is Miss Kaoru?"
"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you that she ran off to the market to get a few things before the weather gets too bad. Just in case we get snowed in without food, ya know," Yahiko informed him.
"Hopefully, she'll bring back something good for dinner," said Sano. Kenshin merely smiled at his friends as they continued in their own activities around the dojo. Dropping his smile, he cast a worried glance up into the white sky and falling snowflakes. 'I hope Miss Kaoru returns quickly, for the weather is about to get much worse, I fear.' A while later, n icy wind blew through the yard, tousling Kenshin's hair.
"Aren't you gonna come inside, Kenshin? It's freezing cold!" Yahiko stood on the porch shivering and rubbing his arms in an almost comic attempt to retain his body heat.
"No, Yahiko. Miss Kaoru is still in town and may need help bringing the food back. She's been gone over two hours now. Usually, she would've been back long ago. It's really windy now, so I think a snow storm is not far away."
"Okay, come back safely, Kenshin! I'll stay here and keep Sano out of what food we do have!"
"Hey Yahiko! Come back in here and finish this game!"
"Aaargh! Coming Sano! I'm gonna beat you this time!" Sano had been teaching Yahiko dice and gambling games lately. But if Kaoru found out, she'd surely punish them both. Kenshin secured another layer of clothing around his body and grabbed two extra blankets. He knew that if the weather really took a turn for the worse, those blankets would be well-appreciated.
Kenshin headed out the dojo gate, wondering which way Kaoru had gone. 'She loves to go the back way when she's alone. Even though it's storming, she probably went the long way back, just because she's stubborn like that,' thought Kenshin, with a smile on his face. He began the hard walk down the long path. 'She has this... this fire about her..... It's amazing, really, how someone could always have such a smiling spirit.'
Kenshin ended up wrapping one of the blankets around himself like a cloak, after a few minutes. The weather had suddenly become even worse. He could barely see ten feet in front of him with the sharp winds blowing snow and ice into his face, which felt like tiny stinging needles in his skin, and the cold was nearly unbearable.
'I need to find Miss Kaoru! I hope she decided to stay with Tae or Megumi instead of battling this weather just to bring us food at the dojo.
'She always puts our needs before her own, regardless of the lengths she has to go through in order to make sure that everybody at the dojo is happy..... And I guess she does make me... us happy...'
* * *
'So... dizzy..... I should have stayed at the Akabeko or gone the short way home. But I must return to the dojo so that everybody has enough food,' thought Kaoru as she clutched the food-filled basket to her chest. She stumbled with her next step and had to stop and wait for the next round of dizziness to pass before continuing slowly through the blizzard-like gusts of snow and icy winds.
'It's so... cold..... Very cold... and my left shoulder really aches on top of it all. I guess that man really did run into me harder than I thought..... It's so cold.....
'But I must get home..... I must return home.....,' continued Kaoru's thoughts. Her hair, clothing, and skin was covered in an icy frost. She felt like her skin was aflame due to the numbing prickling sensation of the biting cold snow. Waves of extreme dizziness and now nausea were increasing in frequency and strength with each passing moment.
Yet, one thought, fueled by her stubbornness, repeated itself over and over again in her mind: 'Must return home... to Sano... Yahiko... and to Kenshin..... Must return home to Kenshin.' She blocked off all feeling and sense of her whereabouts, turned her body on auto-pilot, and repeated that thought over and over like a mantra. 'Must return home... to Kenshin.'
Kaoru had harbored feelings for the repenting swordsman since he began living at her dojo. She knew that she loved him now. That became clear for her when Kenshin battled with Saito Hajime, and almost reverted completely to his darker side; his battousai side. She loved him deeply with all her heart and soul, yet carried a heavy sadness with her, because she didn't think that Kenshin could ever feel the same. His thoughts always seemed to be so far away. He always seemed as if he was in some different world, when in reality, he would be directly in front of her. But there were times when he showed caring and compassion for her, not some distant memory, but she guessed that was just him being a naturally caring person.
'Must return home... to Kenshin,' the mantra repeated again.
White swirled all around her, disorienting her off her equilibrium. Almost her whole body was numb and chilled to the bone, and the parts of her that weren't numb, hurt and ached a great deal. Everything was spinning, faster and faster around her, like a drain sucking her of her energy and thoughts. 'Just a little farther... to return... to Kenshin.....'
Another strong gust of wind cut through the air past a frozen woman struggling in the snow, wearing no more than one extra layer of clothing over her usual kimono. The endless white took a hold of the woman, wrapping its icy claws around her small frame.
The woman's body gave out, dropped a basket full of food, and fell to the snow. The extreme cold, as well as another cycle of dizziness enveloped the woman in cold, pain, and blankness. She was so disoriented that she wasn't even aware she had fallen. 'Must return home... to Kenshin,' her weary mind kept repeating. Had her body not been numb, she would've felt her shoulder throbbing painfully and her body aching.
"Ken... shin.....," the woman at last murmured before letting the darkness in her mind replace the white around her.
'Snip.....'
'Snip.....'
'Snip.....'
To be continued.....
(A/N: Whew! I finally got this retyped! I've had this part written since shortly after I wrote the first chapter, yet due to my computer needing to be completely restored (which means that ALL my files got erased so my computer was like it was when it was new), quite a few chapters were lost. I finally found this chapter written in a notebook of mine and decided it was about time I retyped and posted it!
I hope everybody liked it! Please review or e-mail me your comments! And thank you to all of my reviewers... You guys make writing worth it! And I apologize for taking so long to update! *ducks as angry readers demand for quicker updates* )
(BTW: Half of the next chapter if written, so the wait won't be too long. ;) )