Don't Say it With Flowers!
By Starhopper
Disclaimer: Ich habe kein "claim" an dem Rurouni Kenshin. ABER, Ich habe ein "claim" zum die madchen, Midori und die yunge, Tosuke.
(I love Germanglisch.)
SPOILER WARNING YET AGAIN! If you haven't seen ep 89 of the tv series, then be prepared for some flashbacks to the entire "shopping in Edo" portion of the ep.
YAY! Chapter 13 is something I've been WAITING to do since I started this story.
Enjoy!
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- Say it With a Celebration Part 8: Celebrate the Wishes Made From a Girl's Heart
Falling asleep had been easy.
Getting up proved to be more difficult.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru patted a fingertip to his cheek and watched with a giggle as his eyes twitched in response. She played his name again upon her lute, applying more pressure to that same appendage, watching with interest as he turned his head in a vain effort to escape the irritation her child-like torture presented.
Propping her chin upon his chest, she blew a stream of frustration through her bangs and countered the smile forming upon his lips with a characteristic, "Mou, Kenshin,"
An eyelid slowly opened, the violet eye now exposed dancing with mirth. The arms limply encircling her back suddenly tightening their embrace, drawing her into a possessive hold. However, her shocked reaction was stayed as he tilted his face to meet hers, lips brushing over her forehead.
"I promised," she reminded him, jabbing another finger at his face, hitting him squarely in the chin. "I can't just stay here," of course she could, but she had promised to go shopping with Misao and Megumi, if they could draw the lady-doctor away from her fiancé long enough to entreat that cinnamon gaze to prospective wedding decorations or attire.
"Aa, I wish with all my heart that you could, de gozaru na," his voice was slightly rough from the hours of disuse that lay in sleep, grating through her soul and smoothing the creases like sandpaper. No matter how many times she heard it, his words, his positive recognition of himself still pleased her to no end. And the fact that he could refer to himself without degradation when he was with her and her alone made each moment that much more special.
"I know," the finger slowly traced along his throat, following the perfect symmetrical line that divided him in two. She stopped at the firm muscles of his stomach and folded her arm back along her side.
Reveling in this attention, her boyfriend lay contently with her coddling him so, then answered with a soft, "You go, Kaoru," the abrupt lifting of his hold sent the cold air rushing towards her waist and left her feeling detached and hanging on for something more. "You're still here, that's all that matters," he rolled over on his side, strands of his brilliant red hair falling around the futon like spun threads of fire.
"Al-alright," the teenager nodded resolutely both for herself and him. "I'll go . . . really." At that last word she rose to her knees, looked to the closed shoji, back over to the sleeping and smiling ex-rurouni, back at the door once more, then threw herself over his side, right arm draped around his neck, cheek pressed to his flawless right one.
"Kaoru," his tone wasn't reproving, but lingering.
She hugged him closer, whispering a heart-pinning devoted, "Aishiteru," into the bound crimson silk at the base of his neck.
It was at that moment that Kenshin rose himself on a hidden elbow and with a girlfriend still frozen in place, caught her lips over his shoulder in a molten kiss. Reluctantly breaking it off, a smile drew itself over his mouth, as the words, "Aa, aishiteru," formed upon them.
Now sufficiently melted into a veritable puddle of goo, Kaoru leaned forward slightly, lidded eyes begging for more of this heat to be sparked within before the sun dared to warm her with its morning rays.
"Aishiteru," he grinned wider, "Now go on and have a good time,"
"Demo, Ken-"
His own hand covered her mouth as he shook his head, "You'll be late, de gozaru,"
Raising herself up, Kaoru resolutely sat back on her heels and stood, albeit a bit shakily. Without another look back at the entirely-too- satisfied male, (now back on his side and attempting to sleep) she crossed the room, slid open the shoji, and practically marched down the hall. It was only when she had secluded herself within the confines of her own room that she collapsed onto the floor in a fit of delirious laughter. Even when changing out of her warm kimono into a fresh and chilly one, the memory of how his tongue had lapped into her mouth made her knees wobble.
Sometime later, the Kasshin Master was outside her home, observing the physics of such an uninteresting morning. She kicked a pebble, watched it bounce out of her way and eyed it with anything but fascination as it settled at the base of the dojo wall. Another kick and two pebbles were paired in the shadow of the division. A third jumped between the two, blowing every rock in the opposite direction of its neighbor. Her trained eyes followed each path of ascent or descent, determined not to allow herself to be bored.
Because it was the only thing to do this early, short of ignoring her promise to her friends and crawling back into bed where her boyfriend promised much more entertainment, if the past hours were any indication. Crossing her arms up to her chest, the nineteen year old began to run her fingers down her arms slowly, trying to mimic the same tender caress Kenshin had delivered to them the night before. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine him behind her now, stroking her shoulders, forearms, and elbows with that same tentative passion she'd come to expect from him. A blush tinted her cheeks as her fingers moved lower, brushing her hip and sweeping the curve of her thigh.
"Should I leave you alone, Tanuki?"
Kaoru whirled around angrily, the slight pale pink tint intensifying to a bold red that, she was sure, covered her entire body.
Megumi stood in front of her, a smug paw covering her muzzle as she watched the younger girl turn from erotic daydreamer to that same daydreamer caught red-handed. She coughed to cover her guiltiness in drawing the girl out of her sweet dip into imagination, then tilted her head in a nod of sympathy, approaching Kaoru and settling a comforting palm against her shoulder.
Looking up from attending to Kaoru, Megumi cast a wistful look in the direction of her clinic. With eyes still locked on her own fiancée, imagined from a reality that accentuated the silkiness of his hair, and smoked out his enticing scent to tantalize her nostrils. Setting her eyes to plead, Megumi caught Kaoru's eye and nearly begged, "We don't really have to go shopping today, now do we?"
Kaoru took in her friend's every-day doctor attire and quipped, "From the look of your dress, you weren't planning to anyway."
Megumi's muzzled scrunched as she glared a the smug Tanuki. Rapidly composing herself, the fox ran a hand through her hair and settle to finger one forelock in thought. "You never know when a life will have to be saved."
With a sigh, Kaoru switched directions. All she wanted was some time with her friends and no fights of any shape or form. "Well," Kaoru was imagining similar things with her own longing, however fleeting glance in the direction of Kenshin's sunny room. "Misao is leaving soon, but if she doesn't show up, I'll - "
The sound of Misao skidding to a halt on the gravel in front of them was sufficient reason to end that threat prematurely.
"Ohayo Misao-chan," Kaoru nodded in acknowledgement, an edge to her voice that the ninja picked up easily.
Before Megumi could convey her greeting, Misao held out a hand and proceeded to argue her case. "Mou, it's not my fault that Aoshi is incredibly strong, even asleep!" Rubbing her hand gingerly, the weasel continued. "I nearly had to chew this thing off!"
"I don't want to know,"
Misao's eyes glared water-fire at the doctor in embarrassment. "Not like that! We were holding hands when we fell asleep," a genki-defining smile tugged at the sides of her mouth with the memory, "It was really sweet,"
Each girl paused at the youngest's admission, thoughts drifting to their significant others, eyes distant and faraway with the astral body that curled itself around their source of comfort in melted blue, hardened chestnut, and velvet violet soul-stealing depths.
With a unanimous sigh and shake of their heads, the three friends tried to refocus on the real-world object at hand.
Kaoru looked to Misao, "Shopping?"
"Shopping?" Misao echoed back in the direction of the older woman.
"Shopping." To every surprise, it was Megumi who finalized their plans with her definite statement punctuated by the period. The firm line of her mouth curled with the foxy, resounding fact, "They'll be there when we get back," setting her hands on her hips, she stared each teenager down with a somewhat matronly probing glare, a brow arching in challenge. "Shall we then?"
Kaoru and Misao nearly broke down into a fit of giggles under her cinnamon gaze, "Hai,"
The wind began to pick up, pushing them in the direction of Edo's shopping district as they started their trek along the river. It helped to cool and clear their minds of steam fogging up their vision.
"Do you think they'll even miss us?" Misao chirped as she skipped ahead of the other women, eager to commence the spending of hard-earned money.
Drawing her hands in front of her in a chaste clasp, Kaoru blushed and offered, "Kenshin's awake,"
"Oh?" Megumi intoned with a knowing grin. "How did that happen?"
"Not as stealthy as me, eh?" the ninja flashed a victory sign with the hand she supposedly tried to 'chew off'. Her tone switched from somewhat disappointed to determined, "I'll teach ya how to do it, don't worry,"
"And when the time comes, I can too,"
Kaoru's eyes narrowed and she made a flying leap to cuff Megumi over the head for THAT kind of comment, but halted as her target ducked unassumingly out of the way. Fighting for balance as she reined back a racing- adrenaline punch, the Kasshin master found herself dropping to a roll, thus absorbing the shock of the force she had purposefully packed behind the attack.
"Mou, Megumi . . ." Kaoru practically snarled as Misao sprinted over to help her up. Dust and road film now speckled the bright sunshiny yellow of the kimono she had decided to wear for their day out in downtown Tokyo. "Hold still,"
Her threat fell on deaf fox ears as Megumi continued to laugh the situation up for all it was worth. Continuing to walk ahead, she wagged a finger out to her side, making it visible even to the seething, and dusty Tanuki, "Now, now, it was just a simple fact . . ." Over her shoulder, she purred, "And I'm sure Sanosuke could help Ken-san for that matter,"
"KENSHIN DOES NOT NEED HELP!" Now sufficiently flustered, Kaoru shook Misao off and started at a clipped run for the doctor's throat. "LEAST OF ALL FROM SANO!"
"Oh?" Head turning, Megumi caught the younger girl's eye, slowed her pace, and finally pulling about face, beckoned her into a fight. "Really, and how would you know Tanuki-chan?"
Kaoru arched a very indignant brow. Apparently the Tanuki remark had flown past her without her knowledge of its existence. "Chan?"
"Oi!" Grabbing hold of her friend's long sleeves, Misao dug her heels into the ground and worked her little body as an anchor to stave off Megumi's certain death . . . only to find herself leaving two parallel tracks in the path in her wake. "Can't we just shop and not fi -"
Both Megumi and Kaoru looked to the weasel as she was cut off by emergence of some shadows of the local yakuza blocking their path. The tall leader stepped out from behind the crowd, drawing away the flies feasting on a dead fish on the riverbank to hover over his head. Wrinkling their noses in disgust, the girls formed a line to face the thugs, ready to make the first move, but were stopped as the leader's raspy words, "And what do we have here?" wafted out of his grizzled and rotting cavity one might begrudgingly call a mouth.
"Looks to me like a few dames roamin the streets," an underling supplied from his side, leering at Misao with only a too pronounced lazy eye.
"My guess is they're lookin for some fellas to have a good time wit," a man with dyed green hair called out from the back of the gang. He too was grinning and licking his lips as his hands worked his plans out in the plain sight of the ninja, groping the air with gusto.
Meanwhile the rest of the troop, around twelve at a head count, were picking out their favorite from the trio as the leader continued to talk about what his gang did to innocent maidens caught on the street at the wrong time of the day.
Megumi flashed her teeth in a stunning fake smile, practically purring "Well, we'd like to tell you what we do for," before pausing with her head tilted, her gaze running quickly over the crowd to find suitable words to address these lowly excuses for men. Kaoru's eyes darted to the older woman's as the doctor finally settled on the right words. "Gentlemen of your caliber that happen to find us,"
Misao set her face to a pout, getting into the act. "Yes," she hissed, sliding slightly to Kaoru's side for the strike. "And we're all really hard to satisfy,"
"Just for finding us first," Kaoru batted her long lashes and drew her hand up to her own cheek for a sensual stroke. "We want to show our gratitude,"
Both groups sprang at once, eleven against three. The leader, cowardly bastard that he was had retreated to the back of the group, smugly anticipating his boys to take down these three fragile women of the Meiji era. Four took on Misao, making a leap for each limb to hold her down. Crouching, Misao cocked a brow and at the last moment, withdrew her kunai, and shot the charging men a wicked grin. Before they knew what had hit them, they were hanging precariously from tree branches, suspended by the kunai that held them over the heads of their comrades. So ended the push for the, "Little Genki-one," as the leader called out to the other thugs.
Kaoru handled the three sent her way with some muscle she'd acquired from whapping Yahiko, Kenshin, and Sanosuke over the head for their freeloading ways. When a punch was thrown her way, she ducked, delivered a feminine right hook into the attacker's stomach and swinging around to his back, kneed him in the center of his back where the spine met the hips. Two down, she handled the last with an expert elbow in the side of the ribs, and brought her clasped hands straight down on the top of his greasy head as if she were holding her true weapon of choice, her trusty bokken.
At the same time, the three that were tangoing with Megumi were surprised to first meet the fists of such a delicate flower, then be introduced personally to her surprisingly able knee. Punching two square in the nose over her shoulder and placing a kick to the groin of the third, the doctor stood tall between the men rolling about on the ground in agony. With not even a hair out of place, she blew on her knuckles and shook her head in disappointment. "Mou, you guys aren't even worth our time. Much less Zanza's."
That caught their attention. Every head, whether rolling without the constraints of gravity, bleeding from the nose, or seemingly knocked out with several concussions snapped straight up to look at the woman speaking so lightly of the most feared Fighter-for-hirer in the Underground.
"You-you're his woman?" the leader stammered out with a slip of his torn mouth, the product of a seemingly 'stray' kunai. If possible, his face paled even more to the ill form of defeat dressed in the rags of sheer terror.
Megumi set her hands on her hips, making sure her left hand was noticeable with the bright band of her engagement ring, and frowned reprovingly at each one. "Don't look so surprised."
"And I suppose she's Battousai's," one of Misao's targets pointed shakily in the direction of Kaoru, who was mundanely fingering the tears in her kimono earned from the fight.
"As a matter of fact,"
But before Megumi could finish, another gangster had jumped up and screamed, "SHE IS! I'VE HEARD THE RUMORS! SHE'S BATTOUSAI'S ALRIGHT!" and ran in the opposite direction of the dojo just down the road where his greatest nightmare still slept entirely ignorant of the danger Kaoru had been placed in because of their raging testosterone and general jack- assedness.
Now thoroughly coated in the other's thug's dust, the leader stared on in fright as Kaoru cracked her knuckles while batting her eyelashes once again. This drove half of their assailants into the woods with shrieks of "WHAT DID WE DO?!" and "HE'LL FIND US FOR SURE!" not to mention the lingering echo of "THEY SAY HE DOESN'T GIVE YOU TIME TO SCREAM!".
The remaining men, some hanging in the trees afraid to disturb the kunai that kept them from tumbling into a coma, some struggling to sit up from the punches peppered over their bodies or kicks in the groin from dainty little geta, began to shake in fright as their eyes fell upon the littlest member of the trio, still crouched with her braid hanging over her left shoulder in a silent threat of whipping the next one who dared to attack . . .
A clear question mark forming over the leader's head, he questioned in his raspy entirely too unpleasant voice, "And you would be?"
Misao nearly face-planted, but used her hidden strength to force herself in a hunched stand, shoulders squared. "I'm Makimachi Misao, member of the Oniwabanshuu and that's all you need to know before I kick your ass!" She made to lunge, but two sets of arms around her waist proved sufficient to send her rebounding back on the ground.
"Oh, I'll keep that in mind," the leader started to walk off, writing her off as a complete 'non-threat', unlike the significant others of the most feared men in Edo. He stopped and added over his shoulder, "Weasel-girl,"
"Mou," Misao ceased to struggle as she let, "He's as bad as Saitou," slip out from under her breath which was still short from her effort to throttle the man who considered her threat-less.
Suddenly what little black hairs the man had turned to a shocked white, and slowly turning around to face the girls, stammered out, "Sa-Saitou?"
Misao perked right up and raising herself out of the arms of her friends, pulled her lips up into a genki-grin. "Uh-huh, that chief of police Saitou . . . who should be out on his rounds about now . . ." the smile widened as the leader took off at a clumsy run with arms bent and knees nearly coming up to his chest if not for his flabby gut impeding their progress. And even with this cowardly example, the man had the audacity to call out, "Follow me, those who still consider yourselves men!" as he ran like a dog who'd been hit on the nose with the bristles of a sweeping broom. Only a few followed at the same gait, the ones hanging in the trees continued to go red as the blood rushed to their heads.
Kaoru looked after them with arms crossed in front of her chest. "That's all it took,"
"What do you mean ALL?!" Misao demanded with eyes wide.
"I have to remember that," Kaoru made a note to herself to drop Kenshin's alternate name if the occasion called for it. That might save her another kimono or two. With a thought, she glanced up to Megumi, and upon finding that the other two had started in the direction of the bridge, kicked up her heels to catch up with them. Walking three abreast, the nineteen year old finally asked, "Is that why you recalled Sano's other name?"
The doctor closed her eyes and smirked. With a conceding nod she looked ahead at the bridge now crowded with passerby and marketers already making their way to sell their wares. "That and he told me to mention it if I was ever in danger," and added, "Cocky Tori-atama that he is," with a shake of her head.
"But it saved us then," Misao had to comment sadly. "Not that his name took out eleven thugs beforehand,"
"True," holding up her ring finger, the older woman smiled to herself as the morning sun streaked across the polished gold band. "I'll have to thank him for that,"
A unanimous rolling of the eyes commenced on behalf of Misao and Kaoru as the fox ears popped out and Megumi was overtaken by a fit of character- defining laughter.
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"Where to first?" Kaoru asked Misao as Megumi busied herself to the side with price-checking some fine white silk produced specifically for wedding kimonos.
Misao's eyes were alight as always when surrounded by potential gifts for the other members of the Aoiya or possessions for herself. Then a memory flared to heated life as she spotted a group of giggling girls pushing each other up the steps of the temple, goading themselves to make a wish on the fountain within. A thoughtful smile touched her lips before grabbing the sleeves of Kaoru from her side, and Megumi, who was deep in thought about saving extra yen by buying the fabric in a bolt and reselling the extra to make some extra money for herself soon found herself being dragged along behind the sprinting ninja.
"It's been nearly a year since we visited the fountain." She explained as she stopped abruptly behind the giggling gaggle of young girls, nearly throwing Megumi and Kaoru around her sides and into a head-on collision with the other.
"Aa," Kaoru shook herself off, smoothing some hair back into place and fluffing up her ribbon before even looking at the fountain. "And I have many thanks to give as well as wishes to make,"
The other women were following her example, as well as turning an ear to the discussion the group of girls were having ahead of them.
"C'mon Midori, just say it,"
Kaoru quaked with suppressed laughter as Midori's friend lied with a wag of a finger, "And say it out loud, or it won't come true,"
The girl being shoved to the lip of the fountain shook her head furiously, blushing with just as much intensity as she dug her heels into the stone floor. Unfortunately this did not stop her progress.
"Just say it," she was prompted again.
Giving in, Midori nodded with a shy, "H-Hai," and pulled her hands up from their submissive position against her chest to a shaky prayer.
"I wish to have my first kiss with Tosuke-sama,"
Glancing in Misao's direction, the Kasshin Master caught the younger girl blushing at the honorific, her mind no doubt swimming with memories of how she worshipped Shinomori Aoshi.
"Midori-chan?" A boy a little older than Yahiko, but with hair just as wild stopped his walk by the temple to stare up at the now bright red girl, desperately trying to lean back into her friends and somehow melt into them as if she were invisible. Her friends refused to move and continued to giggle madly like the innocents that they were.
Now thoroughly engrossed in the drama unfolding before them like a good production of Kabuki theater, all three women followed the interaction between Midori and the boy who must be her much-adored Tosuke.
"Midori-chan?" the boy questioned again with uncertainty, walking up the steps to stand before the shy girl.
"Ha-Hai?" She replied, trying to hide behind the sleeve drawn in front of her face.
Tosuke's bold hand reached up and drew it away; keeping a tentative hold on the small wrist he had caught. With a blush he smiled and nodded slightly, painfully unsure of how to handle such a moment.
The very second he asked her to join him on a walk, Megumi, Kaoru, and Misao both released the breath they had been holding for Midori. And once the two had wandered out of the curious gazes of friends and strangers alike, the group before them had parted in separate directions. One girl's eyes threatened tears as she tore through the crowd meandering around the open part of the temple where the fountain was located.
"Aww," Misao looked after her until the girl ducked back into the stream of passerby. "I bet Midori's wish was hers too,"
"Well," Megumi sighed, taking this little breath of cultural air in deeply. "I guess it's our turn. Do you want me to push one of you up to the fountain?"
Kaoru turned her nose up and walked up to the edge, fingers already steepled beneath her chin. "I can walk very well, thank you."
Misao skipped to the edge and copied her friend with the exception that her eyes were wide open, still thinking of Midori and her Tosuke-sama. Megumi stepped up into place aside her, head bowed so that her bangs covered her eyes so that the ninja couldn't register what emotions she had.
"First thanks," Kaoru whispered aloud, her lips tightening in prayer, but her cheeks reddened and she almost giggled. Oh yes, her feelings had crossed over to Kenshin, and his own had dripped into crystal clarity with that first fleeting kiss he had given her so many months ago by the river. Briefly she wondered if the fountain had anything to do with it, but shaking her head, decided it better to not question fate, even her fate. Love was is its most elemental form after all. To ensure its continuity, there was only one other wish to make.
'Allow me to make Kenshin the happiest man in the world.' Kaoru smiled as she wished this with every measurable amount of energy jumping from her heart.
Misao felt herself drifting on a sea of clouds, astral eyes wide open but in reality they remained respectively shut. Kami-sama, as she was sure he would know, she had seen Aoshi's true smile. The one he had on his face when he wanted to talk to her, or kiss her, or just hold her to assure himself that everything was all right and would always be right as long as he left his heart open to her. Yes, but after seeing this true smile light his face so many times, she was starting to wonder where his false one was hiding. Without a separate one to compare it with, Aoshi's smile was just that, his own, true and undaunting. Her mind snagged on the fake or absent smile that had suddenly taken leave of her boyfriend, Misao sunk back into her feet and bowed her head even lower.
'Please allow me to keep Aoshi-anata smiling, now that I've seen his true smile.' Mentally, the weasel winked up to the heavens. 'Arigatou for that one.'
Now it was Megumi's turn. To everyone's surprise, the reverent doctor suddenly dropped to her knees, throwing herself at the base of the fountain, elbows bent and forehead on the cold ground. Her long hair covered her face, pooling around her shoulders in a silky screen to hide the grateful tears trailing down from the corners of her eyes as she swallowed and thanked the merciful Kami-sama.
'Who knew it was possible?' she thought with just as much fury as if she was screaming it to the world, which she would have done had it not been a SILENT prayer. 'After all the games we played, words exchanged, he felt the same way I did!' Thoughts careening together, the words spilled out of her astral mouth. However, no matter how slurred they were, the tone of utter thankfulness wasn't missed. 'Arigatou for giving me another chance.' Eyes snapping open to see nothing but the dark familiarity of her hair and the gravel below her nose, Megumi felt her heart pull away from her ribs as she prayed in earnest.
'Please, allow us to have a life together. Let us both have the joy we deserve." She knew that if she lost Sanosuke, her faith in love would shrivel like a dry leaf in the flame of a night fire. Like it had after Kanryuu.
Standing up with a fresh, clear countenance, Megumi was surrounded by the curious gazes of Kaoru and Misao. The youngest even asked, "And what were you so thankful for?"
Flashing them a smile, the doctor rose her fists in such a celebratory way, that reminded the other girls of Sanosuke instead of his intended. After a quick pause, Megumi screamed, "Yatta! That baka tori-atama finally got a brain!"
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A/N: Oh boy, this story is winding down unfortunately, but don't worry, it'll end on a nice note . . . citrus in flavor perhaps . . . and maybe I'll leave the ends loose enough to tie in a sequel.
*evil grin* hee hee hee
THANKS to Reverie-sama for pointing out the trust factor Kenshin has placed in Kaoru. I was going for that, but you articulated it so well in your review, that I went back and added in the morning vignette to show his relief that she was still there unlike Tomoe *coughicequeencough*. It added such wonderful dimension that screamed both their characters, so yeah, THANK YOU so very much. And it also saved Kenshin from more torture . . . which was recycled into sweetness and a dip into writing 'pretty Ken' vs. 'warrior Ken'.
And whatsmore . . . I liked it.
Thanks to all who have reviewed and kept me going. I've never really wanted to quit, but a quick glance at my wonderful reviews you guys have left me certainly kept up the motivation I'm in sore need of between College and life in general.
REVIEWS are appreciated, encouraged, and never frowned upon!
^_^ Thanks so much!
By Starhopper
Disclaimer: Ich habe kein "claim" an dem Rurouni Kenshin. ABER, Ich habe ein "claim" zum die madchen, Midori und die yunge, Tosuke.
(I love Germanglisch.)
SPOILER WARNING YET AGAIN! If you haven't seen ep 89 of the tv series, then be prepared for some flashbacks to the entire "shopping in Edo" portion of the ep.
YAY! Chapter 13 is something I've been WAITING to do since I started this story.
Enjoy!
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- Say it With a Celebration Part 8: Celebrate the Wishes Made From a Girl's Heart
Falling asleep had been easy.
Getting up proved to be more difficult.
"Kenshin?" Kaoru patted a fingertip to his cheek and watched with a giggle as his eyes twitched in response. She played his name again upon her lute, applying more pressure to that same appendage, watching with interest as he turned his head in a vain effort to escape the irritation her child-like torture presented.
Propping her chin upon his chest, she blew a stream of frustration through her bangs and countered the smile forming upon his lips with a characteristic, "Mou, Kenshin,"
An eyelid slowly opened, the violet eye now exposed dancing with mirth. The arms limply encircling her back suddenly tightening their embrace, drawing her into a possessive hold. However, her shocked reaction was stayed as he tilted his face to meet hers, lips brushing over her forehead.
"I promised," she reminded him, jabbing another finger at his face, hitting him squarely in the chin. "I can't just stay here," of course she could, but she had promised to go shopping with Misao and Megumi, if they could draw the lady-doctor away from her fiancé long enough to entreat that cinnamon gaze to prospective wedding decorations or attire.
"Aa, I wish with all my heart that you could, de gozaru na," his voice was slightly rough from the hours of disuse that lay in sleep, grating through her soul and smoothing the creases like sandpaper. No matter how many times she heard it, his words, his positive recognition of himself still pleased her to no end. And the fact that he could refer to himself without degradation when he was with her and her alone made each moment that much more special.
"I know," the finger slowly traced along his throat, following the perfect symmetrical line that divided him in two. She stopped at the firm muscles of his stomach and folded her arm back along her side.
Reveling in this attention, her boyfriend lay contently with her coddling him so, then answered with a soft, "You go, Kaoru," the abrupt lifting of his hold sent the cold air rushing towards her waist and left her feeling detached and hanging on for something more. "You're still here, that's all that matters," he rolled over on his side, strands of his brilliant red hair falling around the futon like spun threads of fire.
"Al-alright," the teenager nodded resolutely both for herself and him. "I'll go . . . really." At that last word she rose to her knees, looked to the closed shoji, back over to the sleeping and smiling ex-rurouni, back at the door once more, then threw herself over his side, right arm draped around his neck, cheek pressed to his flawless right one.
"Kaoru," his tone wasn't reproving, but lingering.
She hugged him closer, whispering a heart-pinning devoted, "Aishiteru," into the bound crimson silk at the base of his neck.
It was at that moment that Kenshin rose himself on a hidden elbow and with a girlfriend still frozen in place, caught her lips over his shoulder in a molten kiss. Reluctantly breaking it off, a smile drew itself over his mouth, as the words, "Aa, aishiteru," formed upon them.
Now sufficiently melted into a veritable puddle of goo, Kaoru leaned forward slightly, lidded eyes begging for more of this heat to be sparked within before the sun dared to warm her with its morning rays.
"Aishiteru," he grinned wider, "Now go on and have a good time,"
"Demo, Ken-"
His own hand covered her mouth as he shook his head, "You'll be late, de gozaru,"
Raising herself up, Kaoru resolutely sat back on her heels and stood, albeit a bit shakily. Without another look back at the entirely-too- satisfied male, (now back on his side and attempting to sleep) she crossed the room, slid open the shoji, and practically marched down the hall. It was only when she had secluded herself within the confines of her own room that she collapsed onto the floor in a fit of delirious laughter. Even when changing out of her warm kimono into a fresh and chilly one, the memory of how his tongue had lapped into her mouth made her knees wobble.
Sometime later, the Kasshin Master was outside her home, observing the physics of such an uninteresting morning. She kicked a pebble, watched it bounce out of her way and eyed it with anything but fascination as it settled at the base of the dojo wall. Another kick and two pebbles were paired in the shadow of the division. A third jumped between the two, blowing every rock in the opposite direction of its neighbor. Her trained eyes followed each path of ascent or descent, determined not to allow herself to be bored.
Because it was the only thing to do this early, short of ignoring her promise to her friends and crawling back into bed where her boyfriend promised much more entertainment, if the past hours were any indication. Crossing her arms up to her chest, the nineteen year old began to run her fingers down her arms slowly, trying to mimic the same tender caress Kenshin had delivered to them the night before. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine him behind her now, stroking her shoulders, forearms, and elbows with that same tentative passion she'd come to expect from him. A blush tinted her cheeks as her fingers moved lower, brushing her hip and sweeping the curve of her thigh.
"Should I leave you alone, Tanuki?"
Kaoru whirled around angrily, the slight pale pink tint intensifying to a bold red that, she was sure, covered her entire body.
Megumi stood in front of her, a smug paw covering her muzzle as she watched the younger girl turn from erotic daydreamer to that same daydreamer caught red-handed. She coughed to cover her guiltiness in drawing the girl out of her sweet dip into imagination, then tilted her head in a nod of sympathy, approaching Kaoru and settling a comforting palm against her shoulder.
Looking up from attending to Kaoru, Megumi cast a wistful look in the direction of her clinic. With eyes still locked on her own fiancée, imagined from a reality that accentuated the silkiness of his hair, and smoked out his enticing scent to tantalize her nostrils. Setting her eyes to plead, Megumi caught Kaoru's eye and nearly begged, "We don't really have to go shopping today, now do we?"
Kaoru took in her friend's every-day doctor attire and quipped, "From the look of your dress, you weren't planning to anyway."
Megumi's muzzled scrunched as she glared a the smug Tanuki. Rapidly composing herself, the fox ran a hand through her hair and settle to finger one forelock in thought. "You never know when a life will have to be saved."
With a sigh, Kaoru switched directions. All she wanted was some time with her friends and no fights of any shape or form. "Well," Kaoru was imagining similar things with her own longing, however fleeting glance in the direction of Kenshin's sunny room. "Misao is leaving soon, but if she doesn't show up, I'll - "
The sound of Misao skidding to a halt on the gravel in front of them was sufficient reason to end that threat prematurely.
"Ohayo Misao-chan," Kaoru nodded in acknowledgement, an edge to her voice that the ninja picked up easily.
Before Megumi could convey her greeting, Misao held out a hand and proceeded to argue her case. "Mou, it's not my fault that Aoshi is incredibly strong, even asleep!" Rubbing her hand gingerly, the weasel continued. "I nearly had to chew this thing off!"
"I don't want to know,"
Misao's eyes glared water-fire at the doctor in embarrassment. "Not like that! We were holding hands when we fell asleep," a genki-defining smile tugged at the sides of her mouth with the memory, "It was really sweet,"
Each girl paused at the youngest's admission, thoughts drifting to their significant others, eyes distant and faraway with the astral body that curled itself around their source of comfort in melted blue, hardened chestnut, and velvet violet soul-stealing depths.
With a unanimous sigh and shake of their heads, the three friends tried to refocus on the real-world object at hand.
Kaoru looked to Misao, "Shopping?"
"Shopping?" Misao echoed back in the direction of the older woman.
"Shopping." To every surprise, it was Megumi who finalized their plans with her definite statement punctuated by the period. The firm line of her mouth curled with the foxy, resounding fact, "They'll be there when we get back," setting her hands on her hips, she stared each teenager down with a somewhat matronly probing glare, a brow arching in challenge. "Shall we then?"
Kaoru and Misao nearly broke down into a fit of giggles under her cinnamon gaze, "Hai,"
The wind began to pick up, pushing them in the direction of Edo's shopping district as they started their trek along the river. It helped to cool and clear their minds of steam fogging up their vision.
"Do you think they'll even miss us?" Misao chirped as she skipped ahead of the other women, eager to commence the spending of hard-earned money.
Drawing her hands in front of her in a chaste clasp, Kaoru blushed and offered, "Kenshin's awake,"
"Oh?" Megumi intoned with a knowing grin. "How did that happen?"
"Not as stealthy as me, eh?" the ninja flashed a victory sign with the hand she supposedly tried to 'chew off'. Her tone switched from somewhat disappointed to determined, "I'll teach ya how to do it, don't worry,"
"And when the time comes, I can too,"
Kaoru's eyes narrowed and she made a flying leap to cuff Megumi over the head for THAT kind of comment, but halted as her target ducked unassumingly out of the way. Fighting for balance as she reined back a racing- adrenaline punch, the Kasshin master found herself dropping to a roll, thus absorbing the shock of the force she had purposefully packed behind the attack.
"Mou, Megumi . . ." Kaoru practically snarled as Misao sprinted over to help her up. Dust and road film now speckled the bright sunshiny yellow of the kimono she had decided to wear for their day out in downtown Tokyo. "Hold still,"
Her threat fell on deaf fox ears as Megumi continued to laugh the situation up for all it was worth. Continuing to walk ahead, she wagged a finger out to her side, making it visible even to the seething, and dusty Tanuki, "Now, now, it was just a simple fact . . ." Over her shoulder, she purred, "And I'm sure Sanosuke could help Ken-san for that matter,"
"KENSHIN DOES NOT NEED HELP!" Now sufficiently flustered, Kaoru shook Misao off and started at a clipped run for the doctor's throat. "LEAST OF ALL FROM SANO!"
"Oh?" Head turning, Megumi caught the younger girl's eye, slowed her pace, and finally pulling about face, beckoned her into a fight. "Really, and how would you know Tanuki-chan?"
Kaoru arched a very indignant brow. Apparently the Tanuki remark had flown past her without her knowledge of its existence. "Chan?"
"Oi!" Grabbing hold of her friend's long sleeves, Misao dug her heels into the ground and worked her little body as an anchor to stave off Megumi's certain death . . . only to find herself leaving two parallel tracks in the path in her wake. "Can't we just shop and not fi -"
Both Megumi and Kaoru looked to the weasel as she was cut off by emergence of some shadows of the local yakuza blocking their path. The tall leader stepped out from behind the crowd, drawing away the flies feasting on a dead fish on the riverbank to hover over his head. Wrinkling their noses in disgust, the girls formed a line to face the thugs, ready to make the first move, but were stopped as the leader's raspy words, "And what do we have here?" wafted out of his grizzled and rotting cavity one might begrudgingly call a mouth.
"Looks to me like a few dames roamin the streets," an underling supplied from his side, leering at Misao with only a too pronounced lazy eye.
"My guess is they're lookin for some fellas to have a good time wit," a man with dyed green hair called out from the back of the gang. He too was grinning and licking his lips as his hands worked his plans out in the plain sight of the ninja, groping the air with gusto.
Meanwhile the rest of the troop, around twelve at a head count, were picking out their favorite from the trio as the leader continued to talk about what his gang did to innocent maidens caught on the street at the wrong time of the day.
Megumi flashed her teeth in a stunning fake smile, practically purring "Well, we'd like to tell you what we do for," before pausing with her head tilted, her gaze running quickly over the crowd to find suitable words to address these lowly excuses for men. Kaoru's eyes darted to the older woman's as the doctor finally settled on the right words. "Gentlemen of your caliber that happen to find us,"
Misao set her face to a pout, getting into the act. "Yes," she hissed, sliding slightly to Kaoru's side for the strike. "And we're all really hard to satisfy,"
"Just for finding us first," Kaoru batted her long lashes and drew her hand up to her own cheek for a sensual stroke. "We want to show our gratitude,"
Both groups sprang at once, eleven against three. The leader, cowardly bastard that he was had retreated to the back of the group, smugly anticipating his boys to take down these three fragile women of the Meiji era. Four took on Misao, making a leap for each limb to hold her down. Crouching, Misao cocked a brow and at the last moment, withdrew her kunai, and shot the charging men a wicked grin. Before they knew what had hit them, they were hanging precariously from tree branches, suspended by the kunai that held them over the heads of their comrades. So ended the push for the, "Little Genki-one," as the leader called out to the other thugs.
Kaoru handled the three sent her way with some muscle she'd acquired from whapping Yahiko, Kenshin, and Sanosuke over the head for their freeloading ways. When a punch was thrown her way, she ducked, delivered a feminine right hook into the attacker's stomach and swinging around to his back, kneed him in the center of his back where the spine met the hips. Two down, she handled the last with an expert elbow in the side of the ribs, and brought her clasped hands straight down on the top of his greasy head as if she were holding her true weapon of choice, her trusty bokken.
At the same time, the three that were tangoing with Megumi were surprised to first meet the fists of such a delicate flower, then be introduced personally to her surprisingly able knee. Punching two square in the nose over her shoulder and placing a kick to the groin of the third, the doctor stood tall between the men rolling about on the ground in agony. With not even a hair out of place, she blew on her knuckles and shook her head in disappointment. "Mou, you guys aren't even worth our time. Much less Zanza's."
That caught their attention. Every head, whether rolling without the constraints of gravity, bleeding from the nose, or seemingly knocked out with several concussions snapped straight up to look at the woman speaking so lightly of the most feared Fighter-for-hirer in the Underground.
"You-you're his woman?" the leader stammered out with a slip of his torn mouth, the product of a seemingly 'stray' kunai. If possible, his face paled even more to the ill form of defeat dressed in the rags of sheer terror.
Megumi set her hands on her hips, making sure her left hand was noticeable with the bright band of her engagement ring, and frowned reprovingly at each one. "Don't look so surprised."
"And I suppose she's Battousai's," one of Misao's targets pointed shakily in the direction of Kaoru, who was mundanely fingering the tears in her kimono earned from the fight.
"As a matter of fact,"
But before Megumi could finish, another gangster had jumped up and screamed, "SHE IS! I'VE HEARD THE RUMORS! SHE'S BATTOUSAI'S ALRIGHT!" and ran in the opposite direction of the dojo just down the road where his greatest nightmare still slept entirely ignorant of the danger Kaoru had been placed in because of their raging testosterone and general jack- assedness.
Now thoroughly coated in the other's thug's dust, the leader stared on in fright as Kaoru cracked her knuckles while batting her eyelashes once again. This drove half of their assailants into the woods with shrieks of "WHAT DID WE DO?!" and "HE'LL FIND US FOR SURE!" not to mention the lingering echo of "THEY SAY HE DOESN'T GIVE YOU TIME TO SCREAM!".
The remaining men, some hanging in the trees afraid to disturb the kunai that kept them from tumbling into a coma, some struggling to sit up from the punches peppered over their bodies or kicks in the groin from dainty little geta, began to shake in fright as their eyes fell upon the littlest member of the trio, still crouched with her braid hanging over her left shoulder in a silent threat of whipping the next one who dared to attack . . .
A clear question mark forming over the leader's head, he questioned in his raspy entirely too unpleasant voice, "And you would be?"
Misao nearly face-planted, but used her hidden strength to force herself in a hunched stand, shoulders squared. "I'm Makimachi Misao, member of the Oniwabanshuu and that's all you need to know before I kick your ass!" She made to lunge, but two sets of arms around her waist proved sufficient to send her rebounding back on the ground.
"Oh, I'll keep that in mind," the leader started to walk off, writing her off as a complete 'non-threat', unlike the significant others of the most feared men in Edo. He stopped and added over his shoulder, "Weasel-girl,"
"Mou," Misao ceased to struggle as she let, "He's as bad as Saitou," slip out from under her breath which was still short from her effort to throttle the man who considered her threat-less.
Suddenly what little black hairs the man had turned to a shocked white, and slowly turning around to face the girls, stammered out, "Sa-Saitou?"
Misao perked right up and raising herself out of the arms of her friends, pulled her lips up into a genki-grin. "Uh-huh, that chief of police Saitou . . . who should be out on his rounds about now . . ." the smile widened as the leader took off at a clumsy run with arms bent and knees nearly coming up to his chest if not for his flabby gut impeding their progress. And even with this cowardly example, the man had the audacity to call out, "Follow me, those who still consider yourselves men!" as he ran like a dog who'd been hit on the nose with the bristles of a sweeping broom. Only a few followed at the same gait, the ones hanging in the trees continued to go red as the blood rushed to their heads.
Kaoru looked after them with arms crossed in front of her chest. "That's all it took,"
"What do you mean ALL?!" Misao demanded with eyes wide.
"I have to remember that," Kaoru made a note to herself to drop Kenshin's alternate name if the occasion called for it. That might save her another kimono or two. With a thought, she glanced up to Megumi, and upon finding that the other two had started in the direction of the bridge, kicked up her heels to catch up with them. Walking three abreast, the nineteen year old finally asked, "Is that why you recalled Sano's other name?"
The doctor closed her eyes and smirked. With a conceding nod she looked ahead at the bridge now crowded with passerby and marketers already making their way to sell their wares. "That and he told me to mention it if I was ever in danger," and added, "Cocky Tori-atama that he is," with a shake of her head.
"But it saved us then," Misao had to comment sadly. "Not that his name took out eleven thugs beforehand,"
"True," holding up her ring finger, the older woman smiled to herself as the morning sun streaked across the polished gold band. "I'll have to thank him for that,"
A unanimous rolling of the eyes commenced on behalf of Misao and Kaoru as the fox ears popped out and Megumi was overtaken by a fit of character- defining laughter.
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"Where to first?" Kaoru asked Misao as Megumi busied herself to the side with price-checking some fine white silk produced specifically for wedding kimonos.
Misao's eyes were alight as always when surrounded by potential gifts for the other members of the Aoiya or possessions for herself. Then a memory flared to heated life as she spotted a group of giggling girls pushing each other up the steps of the temple, goading themselves to make a wish on the fountain within. A thoughtful smile touched her lips before grabbing the sleeves of Kaoru from her side, and Megumi, who was deep in thought about saving extra yen by buying the fabric in a bolt and reselling the extra to make some extra money for herself soon found herself being dragged along behind the sprinting ninja.
"It's been nearly a year since we visited the fountain." She explained as she stopped abruptly behind the giggling gaggle of young girls, nearly throwing Megumi and Kaoru around her sides and into a head-on collision with the other.
"Aa," Kaoru shook herself off, smoothing some hair back into place and fluffing up her ribbon before even looking at the fountain. "And I have many thanks to give as well as wishes to make,"
The other women were following her example, as well as turning an ear to the discussion the group of girls were having ahead of them.
"C'mon Midori, just say it,"
Kaoru quaked with suppressed laughter as Midori's friend lied with a wag of a finger, "And say it out loud, or it won't come true,"
The girl being shoved to the lip of the fountain shook her head furiously, blushing with just as much intensity as she dug her heels into the stone floor. Unfortunately this did not stop her progress.
"Just say it," she was prompted again.
Giving in, Midori nodded with a shy, "H-Hai," and pulled her hands up from their submissive position against her chest to a shaky prayer.
"I wish to have my first kiss with Tosuke-sama,"
Glancing in Misao's direction, the Kasshin Master caught the younger girl blushing at the honorific, her mind no doubt swimming with memories of how she worshipped Shinomori Aoshi.
"Midori-chan?" A boy a little older than Yahiko, but with hair just as wild stopped his walk by the temple to stare up at the now bright red girl, desperately trying to lean back into her friends and somehow melt into them as if she were invisible. Her friends refused to move and continued to giggle madly like the innocents that they were.
Now thoroughly engrossed in the drama unfolding before them like a good production of Kabuki theater, all three women followed the interaction between Midori and the boy who must be her much-adored Tosuke.
"Midori-chan?" the boy questioned again with uncertainty, walking up the steps to stand before the shy girl.
"Ha-Hai?" She replied, trying to hide behind the sleeve drawn in front of her face.
Tosuke's bold hand reached up and drew it away; keeping a tentative hold on the small wrist he had caught. With a blush he smiled and nodded slightly, painfully unsure of how to handle such a moment.
The very second he asked her to join him on a walk, Megumi, Kaoru, and Misao both released the breath they had been holding for Midori. And once the two had wandered out of the curious gazes of friends and strangers alike, the group before them had parted in separate directions. One girl's eyes threatened tears as she tore through the crowd meandering around the open part of the temple where the fountain was located.
"Aww," Misao looked after her until the girl ducked back into the stream of passerby. "I bet Midori's wish was hers too,"
"Well," Megumi sighed, taking this little breath of cultural air in deeply. "I guess it's our turn. Do you want me to push one of you up to the fountain?"
Kaoru turned her nose up and walked up to the edge, fingers already steepled beneath her chin. "I can walk very well, thank you."
Misao skipped to the edge and copied her friend with the exception that her eyes were wide open, still thinking of Midori and her Tosuke-sama. Megumi stepped up into place aside her, head bowed so that her bangs covered her eyes so that the ninja couldn't register what emotions she had.
"First thanks," Kaoru whispered aloud, her lips tightening in prayer, but her cheeks reddened and she almost giggled. Oh yes, her feelings had crossed over to Kenshin, and his own had dripped into crystal clarity with that first fleeting kiss he had given her so many months ago by the river. Briefly she wondered if the fountain had anything to do with it, but shaking her head, decided it better to not question fate, even her fate. Love was is its most elemental form after all. To ensure its continuity, there was only one other wish to make.
'Allow me to make Kenshin the happiest man in the world.' Kaoru smiled as she wished this with every measurable amount of energy jumping from her heart.
Misao felt herself drifting on a sea of clouds, astral eyes wide open but in reality they remained respectively shut. Kami-sama, as she was sure he would know, she had seen Aoshi's true smile. The one he had on his face when he wanted to talk to her, or kiss her, or just hold her to assure himself that everything was all right and would always be right as long as he left his heart open to her. Yes, but after seeing this true smile light his face so many times, she was starting to wonder where his false one was hiding. Without a separate one to compare it with, Aoshi's smile was just that, his own, true and undaunting. Her mind snagged on the fake or absent smile that had suddenly taken leave of her boyfriend, Misao sunk back into her feet and bowed her head even lower.
'Please allow me to keep Aoshi-anata smiling, now that I've seen his true smile.' Mentally, the weasel winked up to the heavens. 'Arigatou for that one.'
Now it was Megumi's turn. To everyone's surprise, the reverent doctor suddenly dropped to her knees, throwing herself at the base of the fountain, elbows bent and forehead on the cold ground. Her long hair covered her face, pooling around her shoulders in a silky screen to hide the grateful tears trailing down from the corners of her eyes as she swallowed and thanked the merciful Kami-sama.
'Who knew it was possible?' she thought with just as much fury as if she was screaming it to the world, which she would have done had it not been a SILENT prayer. 'After all the games we played, words exchanged, he felt the same way I did!' Thoughts careening together, the words spilled out of her astral mouth. However, no matter how slurred they were, the tone of utter thankfulness wasn't missed. 'Arigatou for giving me another chance.' Eyes snapping open to see nothing but the dark familiarity of her hair and the gravel below her nose, Megumi felt her heart pull away from her ribs as she prayed in earnest.
'Please, allow us to have a life together. Let us both have the joy we deserve." She knew that if she lost Sanosuke, her faith in love would shrivel like a dry leaf in the flame of a night fire. Like it had after Kanryuu.
Standing up with a fresh, clear countenance, Megumi was surrounded by the curious gazes of Kaoru and Misao. The youngest even asked, "And what were you so thankful for?"
Flashing them a smile, the doctor rose her fists in such a celebratory way, that reminded the other girls of Sanosuke instead of his intended. After a quick pause, Megumi screamed, "Yatta! That baka tori-atama finally got a brain!"
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A/N: Oh boy, this story is winding down unfortunately, but don't worry, it'll end on a nice note . . . citrus in flavor perhaps . . . and maybe I'll leave the ends loose enough to tie in a sequel.
*evil grin* hee hee hee
THANKS to Reverie-sama for pointing out the trust factor Kenshin has placed in Kaoru. I was going for that, but you articulated it so well in your review, that I went back and added in the morning vignette to show his relief that she was still there unlike Tomoe *coughicequeencough*. It added such wonderful dimension that screamed both their characters, so yeah, THANK YOU so very much. And it also saved Kenshin from more torture . . . which was recycled into sweetness and a dip into writing 'pretty Ken' vs. 'warrior Ken'.
And whatsmore . . . I liked it.
Thanks to all who have reviewed and kept me going. I've never really wanted to quit, but a quick glance at my wonderful reviews you guys have left me certainly kept up the motivation I'm in sore need of between College and life in general.
REVIEWS are appreciated, encouraged, and never frowned upon!
^_^ Thanks so much!