Sooner the Better
It was the lulling darkness of the night. All in the house were asleep, except one man.
Soujirou, Aoshi, and Sano were all sleeping in Kaoru's room, their futons strewn about. He
watched her dozing figure as the rythmic sounds of her calm breathing eased his tense
muscles. The night was long and the only thing he could do was keep his vigil and watch her.
But watching Kaoru was a harder task than he could imagine. For such a simple and average
girl in daylight, she managed to become a goddess in the night. Tiny flickers of moonlight
danced around her elegant face and he was captured. A subtle feeling of emotion spreaded
through his eyes and started to turn them into amber. With over a decade of just fighting and
killing, he had never had the luxory of indulging in his supressed feelings. He had been in the
presence of some of the most beautiful and most desired women in Japan, and he had felt
nothing then. Why now? She infuriated him with her defiances and pathetic morals that
always got in the way with what he wanted. She was breaking apart the control that he always
held in life by just arguing with him. She, a weak and useless little girl, wreaking chaos in him,
a master swordsman who had no equal. Everything about her made him angry and frustrated.
And yet, here and now, those feelings of hate felt like....desire. Not a desire of sexual
pleasures, but a desire for love. She had defended everybody in this house from his crude
remarks. Everybody but himself. Did she hate him as he had hated her? He suddenly wanted
to know. His grip on his sword's sheath tightened. *What the hell am I thinking? She's an
assignment, just an assignment* But as he sat, watching her calmly breathing, all traces of
hate faded. He could feel his soul yearning inside for something. Something that was out of his
reach and out of the controlled world he knew so well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Shishio's fortress lies in the northwest here."
The owner of the mansion pointed at a map in front of him. All eyes were attentively on his
finger.
"We want to get there as quietly and as secretly as we can. Trains and wagons are out of the
question, Shishio has got spies everywhere on the road. Which is why I am asking you four to
take Kaoru through the forest. She'll be safer that way, though it will take longer to get to
Shishio. So you will be leaving later today. The sooner we get rid of Shishio, the better. Your
supplies are almost ready and you will be going by horse. Kaoru, dress warmly."
"Hai." she said softly.
"We can't afford to have you die before you fulfill your duty."
Aoshi's face muscles grew tight at such a remark and Soujirou's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Now go, you may leave when you like. But do it before the day is over. Shishio must be
crushed now."
Kaoru waited till the others had filed out of the room and closed the doors behind her. She
gave a butterfly touch on Aoshi's arm to calm him. Seeing her face, he eased down.
"It's ok, Aoshi-sama."
"That damned idiot."
"Well, how about we leave in about an hour? We could cover a lot of distance if we ride as
much as we can in the day."
"Are you so eager to die?" Aoshi snapped.
"She will not die while under my watch." Kenshin cut in.
"You don't know anything." Aoshi muttered and walked away from the group, obviously
peeved.
Kaoru shook her head and started to walk to her room.
"We should probably pack light if we want to move easier." she commented as Soujirou, Sano,
Kenshin followed behind her.
"Will you two be alright with leaving in less than an hour?" she asked.
"All I need is my sword." Soujirou said cheerfully.
"I don't know where I'll fit all my sake, cards, and other junk."
"Sano, you will not need any of those things during the journey. The sake, I am sure you will
be able to purchase on the road. And we will not have the time to gamble along the way. Just
bring things you cannot do without." Kaoru issued sternly.
"Ah, but Jou-chan, I can't live without my sake and cards."
"I'm sure you can Sano, now stop fooling around."
Sano gave a broad smile and reached his hand out to pat Kaoru's head. She ducked from his
touch and moved several feet away.
"Don't touch me, for God's sake, don't touch me."
Sano rubbed the back of his head in embarassment.
"Sorry Jou-chan, I forgot."
"You must remember from now on to not touch me. All I need is the tiniest bit of skin and
you're gone, and I don't want that to happen." she said in the most serious voice she could
muster. Sano's laughing eyes toned down a little, but it didn't blow out the lifelike spark in his
eyes.
"I do remember, but Jou-chan, you can't live forever without the touch of another person."
"I guess it's something I will have to deal with, if it means I won't have to kill anybody."
Sano gave a sigh and put his hands behind his head.
"Alright, I'll bend to your will and only take what's necessary, but girl, you're asking lot."
"Just till the job is done, neh Sano-chan?"
"Fine fine, I'll go start packing, Soujirou-Kenshin, take my place."
Soujirou gave a smile as Sano opened the door to the bodyguard quarters. Kaoru turned her
attention to Kenshin.
"Do you intend to bring anything with you?"
"I've got what I need. Hurry up and pack, the sooner the better."
Something flickered in Kaoru's eyes so quickly that Kenshin wasn't quite able to catch what it
was. But it was gone and she gave an empty smile, something very unlike her.
"Yes, the sooner the better, isn't?" she said in such a quiet voice that he almost couldn't hear
her. She opened her door and stepped inside but was pulled back quickly by Kenshin.
"Bodyguards go in first."
"Oh, I forgot."
"Well, the next time you forget might be the end of your life." he said severely.
"I said I forgot."
Kenshin ignored her apology and looked carefully around the room. He opened the door
wider to let Kaoru in. Soujirou stayed by Kenshin's side and watched Kaoru start to pack her
things in a small bag.
"You are being too critical with her." Soujirou stated.
"So? She needs to learn."
"She's never had bodyguards before, so she doesn't know."
"That's a pitiful excuse."
"It's a human one."
With that said, Soujirou walked to Kaoru and started to help her pack. Kenshin was glowering
at Soujirou's honest comment....and at himself. He knew. He knew she had never known the
procedures bodyguards went through, and yet he tried to blame her. Blame her for her own
innocence. Why couldn't he control himself anymore? He had had worse and certainly
stupider clients than her but he always kept his cool and composed demeaner. It felt like she
had taken every bit of patience in him and had replaced it with uncertainty. This every day
struggle was becoming too much for him, and he hoped that the job would be over soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaoru covered her face with her hands and gave a groan. Sano shrugged his shoulders and
several bottles of sake clinked from the movement.
"Sano! I said only what's necessary!" said Kaoru, her voice muffled by her hands.
"Well Jou-chan, I looked over all my possessions and found that the only things I needed was
my fists, my sake, and some cards to play at night."
Kaoru dropped her hands slowly.
"I give up. Let's just go, everything is ready."
A servant held a greyish mare for Kaoru as she mounted. All the other bodyguards did the
same on dark colored horses, ones that would blend better in the dim forest settings. At
Kenshin's signal they started trotting down the driveway and out on to the road. Kaoru took
one last look back at the cluster of sakura trees and gave a sigh. She could at least still see the
sunsets and sunrises, she hoped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just when she was about to drop from exhaustion Kenshin finally stopped them. It was well
past sunset and Kaoru had been too tired to look at it. Little mattresses were rolled out and
Kaoru fell right into hers and slept without dinner. Aoshi quietly laid a blanket over her figure
and took a place right next to her.
"If you keep pushing her at this rate, we'll get to Shishio's fortress in a week." he said in a
monotonous voice.
"We need to get there as quickly as we can."
Kenshin's eyes glimmered over the crackling fire as Aoshi's face withdrew completely.
Soujirou took a spot right by a tree trunk and leaned against it, sword in his arms.
"It would be best, gentlemen, to rest as much as we can. If we are to travel quickly then we
need our energy." he said in a low tone, being ever the peacemaker.
Saying that, Soujirou closed his eyes and started to meditate. Aoshi followed Soujirou's
example and closed his eyes as well. Only Kenshin remained in keeping his eyes open. He
watched the leaping flames while contemplating on Aoshi's odd behavior. He was always
quick to anger whenever the conversation turned to killing Shishio. Did the idea of a
soulsucker anger him that much? *No...he has an unbreakable faith to Kaoru, for some
strange reason* He had figured out they must have met a while ago, but why so much loyalty
to a little girl? This was suppose to be a simple mission, just a simple bodyguarding job. But
why was there so much mystery surrounding a contemptible girl? *Perhaps.....perhaps there
is more to the mission than I have been told*
*alright alright, I'll try to start up some romance in the next chappie. meanwhile, review!!
It was the lulling darkness of the night. All in the house were asleep, except one man.
Soujirou, Aoshi, and Sano were all sleeping in Kaoru's room, their futons strewn about. He
watched her dozing figure as the rythmic sounds of her calm breathing eased his tense
muscles. The night was long and the only thing he could do was keep his vigil and watch her.
But watching Kaoru was a harder task than he could imagine. For such a simple and average
girl in daylight, she managed to become a goddess in the night. Tiny flickers of moonlight
danced around her elegant face and he was captured. A subtle feeling of emotion spreaded
through his eyes and started to turn them into amber. With over a decade of just fighting and
killing, he had never had the luxory of indulging in his supressed feelings. He had been in the
presence of some of the most beautiful and most desired women in Japan, and he had felt
nothing then. Why now? She infuriated him with her defiances and pathetic morals that
always got in the way with what he wanted. She was breaking apart the control that he always
held in life by just arguing with him. She, a weak and useless little girl, wreaking chaos in him,
a master swordsman who had no equal. Everything about her made him angry and frustrated.
And yet, here and now, those feelings of hate felt like....desire. Not a desire of sexual
pleasures, but a desire for love. She had defended everybody in this house from his crude
remarks. Everybody but himself. Did she hate him as he had hated her? He suddenly wanted
to know. His grip on his sword's sheath tightened. *What the hell am I thinking? She's an
assignment, just an assignment* But as he sat, watching her calmly breathing, all traces of
hate faded. He could feel his soul yearning inside for something. Something that was out of his
reach and out of the controlled world he knew so well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Shishio's fortress lies in the northwest here."
The owner of the mansion pointed at a map in front of him. All eyes were attentively on his
finger.
"We want to get there as quietly and as secretly as we can. Trains and wagons are out of the
question, Shishio has got spies everywhere on the road. Which is why I am asking you four to
take Kaoru through the forest. She'll be safer that way, though it will take longer to get to
Shishio. So you will be leaving later today. The sooner we get rid of Shishio, the better. Your
supplies are almost ready and you will be going by horse. Kaoru, dress warmly."
"Hai." she said softly.
"We can't afford to have you die before you fulfill your duty."
Aoshi's face muscles grew tight at such a remark and Soujirou's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Now go, you may leave when you like. But do it before the day is over. Shishio must be
crushed now."
Kaoru waited till the others had filed out of the room and closed the doors behind her. She
gave a butterfly touch on Aoshi's arm to calm him. Seeing her face, he eased down.
"It's ok, Aoshi-sama."
"That damned idiot."
"Well, how about we leave in about an hour? We could cover a lot of distance if we ride as
much as we can in the day."
"Are you so eager to die?" Aoshi snapped.
"She will not die while under my watch." Kenshin cut in.
"You don't know anything." Aoshi muttered and walked away from the group, obviously
peeved.
Kaoru shook her head and started to walk to her room.
"We should probably pack light if we want to move easier." she commented as Soujirou, Sano,
Kenshin followed behind her.
"Will you two be alright with leaving in less than an hour?" she asked.
"All I need is my sword." Soujirou said cheerfully.
"I don't know where I'll fit all my sake, cards, and other junk."
"Sano, you will not need any of those things during the journey. The sake, I am sure you will
be able to purchase on the road. And we will not have the time to gamble along the way. Just
bring things you cannot do without." Kaoru issued sternly.
"Ah, but Jou-chan, I can't live without my sake and cards."
"I'm sure you can Sano, now stop fooling around."
Sano gave a broad smile and reached his hand out to pat Kaoru's head. She ducked from his
touch and moved several feet away.
"Don't touch me, for God's sake, don't touch me."
Sano rubbed the back of his head in embarassment.
"Sorry Jou-chan, I forgot."
"You must remember from now on to not touch me. All I need is the tiniest bit of skin and
you're gone, and I don't want that to happen." she said in the most serious voice she could
muster. Sano's laughing eyes toned down a little, but it didn't blow out the lifelike spark in his
eyes.
"I do remember, but Jou-chan, you can't live forever without the touch of another person."
"I guess it's something I will have to deal with, if it means I won't have to kill anybody."
Sano gave a sigh and put his hands behind his head.
"Alright, I'll bend to your will and only take what's necessary, but girl, you're asking lot."
"Just till the job is done, neh Sano-chan?"
"Fine fine, I'll go start packing, Soujirou-Kenshin, take my place."
Soujirou gave a smile as Sano opened the door to the bodyguard quarters. Kaoru turned her
attention to Kenshin.
"Do you intend to bring anything with you?"
"I've got what I need. Hurry up and pack, the sooner the better."
Something flickered in Kaoru's eyes so quickly that Kenshin wasn't quite able to catch what it
was. But it was gone and she gave an empty smile, something very unlike her.
"Yes, the sooner the better, isn't?" she said in such a quiet voice that he almost couldn't hear
her. She opened her door and stepped inside but was pulled back quickly by Kenshin.
"Bodyguards go in first."
"Oh, I forgot."
"Well, the next time you forget might be the end of your life." he said severely.
"I said I forgot."
Kenshin ignored her apology and looked carefully around the room. He opened the door
wider to let Kaoru in. Soujirou stayed by Kenshin's side and watched Kaoru start to pack her
things in a small bag.
"You are being too critical with her." Soujirou stated.
"So? She needs to learn."
"She's never had bodyguards before, so she doesn't know."
"That's a pitiful excuse."
"It's a human one."
With that said, Soujirou walked to Kaoru and started to help her pack. Kenshin was glowering
at Soujirou's honest comment....and at himself. He knew. He knew she had never known the
procedures bodyguards went through, and yet he tried to blame her. Blame her for her own
innocence. Why couldn't he control himself anymore? He had had worse and certainly
stupider clients than her but he always kept his cool and composed demeaner. It felt like she
had taken every bit of patience in him and had replaced it with uncertainty. This every day
struggle was becoming too much for him, and he hoped that the job would be over soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaoru covered her face with her hands and gave a groan. Sano shrugged his shoulders and
several bottles of sake clinked from the movement.
"Sano! I said only what's necessary!" said Kaoru, her voice muffled by her hands.
"Well Jou-chan, I looked over all my possessions and found that the only things I needed was
my fists, my sake, and some cards to play at night."
Kaoru dropped her hands slowly.
"I give up. Let's just go, everything is ready."
A servant held a greyish mare for Kaoru as she mounted. All the other bodyguards did the
same on dark colored horses, ones that would blend better in the dim forest settings. At
Kenshin's signal they started trotting down the driveway and out on to the road. Kaoru took
one last look back at the cluster of sakura trees and gave a sigh. She could at least still see the
sunsets and sunrises, she hoped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just when she was about to drop from exhaustion Kenshin finally stopped them. It was well
past sunset and Kaoru had been too tired to look at it. Little mattresses were rolled out and
Kaoru fell right into hers and slept without dinner. Aoshi quietly laid a blanket over her figure
and took a place right next to her.
"If you keep pushing her at this rate, we'll get to Shishio's fortress in a week." he said in a
monotonous voice.
"We need to get there as quickly as we can."
Kenshin's eyes glimmered over the crackling fire as Aoshi's face withdrew completely.
Soujirou took a spot right by a tree trunk and leaned against it, sword in his arms.
"It would be best, gentlemen, to rest as much as we can. If we are to travel quickly then we
need our energy." he said in a low tone, being ever the peacemaker.
Saying that, Soujirou closed his eyes and started to meditate. Aoshi followed Soujirou's
example and closed his eyes as well. Only Kenshin remained in keeping his eyes open. He
watched the leaping flames while contemplating on Aoshi's odd behavior. He was always
quick to anger whenever the conversation turned to killing Shishio. Did the idea of a
soulsucker anger him that much? *No...he has an unbreakable faith to Kaoru, for some
strange reason* He had figured out they must have met a while ago, but why so much loyalty
to a little girl? This was suppose to be a simple mission, just a simple bodyguarding job. But
why was there so much mystery surrounding a contemptible girl? *Perhaps.....perhaps there
is more to the mission than I have been told*
*alright alright, I'll try to start up some romance in the next chappie. meanwhile, review!!