Here I am, back with chapter 2. Fortunately, yet unfortunately for me, I had a stroke of brilliance right after I put the first chapter out. I made a simple change to prologue to make it fit: I changed Kazue's wardrobe. She instead wears a hakama and gi. Besides, it can't be easy to run in a kimono. And, as you will all soon realize, she can't afford a kimono. ;;
Oh, and I changed one word in chapter one. I changed "Seppuku" to just regular old suicide. My friend informed me that Seppuku is stabbing yourself through the stomach and having someone cut your head off. Oo Who knew it was so specific?? Not me. Good thing I have friends who do.
Oh, and I give a shout out to Whiterabbit and RabidTurtle, my first and only reviews. You guys are awesome! ;;
Disclaimer: I'd run RK straight into the ground if I owned it, so be glad I don't.
"She's asleep," whispered Kaoru, as she quietly slid the door opened and stepped out. Kenshin, who was leaning against the wall beside the door, turned to her.
"She didn't even give you her name?" Kaoru asked as she slid the door shut again, careful not to wake the sleeping girl inside. Kenshin shook his head.
A while before, Kenshin had returned with the girl, who had basically been asleep on her feet. Kaoru, who was getting use to having strange visitors in her home, didn't question Kenshin. It wasn't the right time for questions. Instead, she gave the girl a place to sleep. But, now that the girl was asleep, it WAS the right time to ask questions.
"I still don't understand why she has to sleep in MY room," said a drowsy and grumpy Yahiko, who stood next to the Kenshin, his hair rumpled and messy. However, Kaoru casually ignored the boy's complaint, and he contented himself with muttering obscenities at her.
"She was really trying to kill herself?" Kaoru asked cautiously. "Has she said why?" Again, Kenshin shook his head.
"She spoke very little that this one could understand." He said. "She did not say her name, or anything of the sort." His eyes narrowed slightly as he ran the strange meeting through his mind once again. "All that I could understand was, 'I don't know what to do,' and 'I have nowhere to go.'"
"What nationality is she?" asked Kaoru suddenly. Kenshin turned to face her.
"Pardon?" he asked.
"She does not look Japanese." Said Kaoru, looking back at the door to the room. "She's as tall as you and me, but she doesn't look very old." Kenshin nodded in response.
"When she was speaking to me, I believe she alternated languages." He said as he looked at the floor, concentrating. "I remember her saying some very strange words that I've never heard before...she even made sounds I've never heard anyone make."
"Her eyes are big." Yahiko interjected simply. Kaoru and Kenshin both turned to look at the boy, waiting for him to go on. Yahiko was looking at the floor, much like Kenshin had been, his eyes half closed. After a moment, he could feel the duo's gazes burning into him, and he looked at them both with an annoyed expression.
"What?" he barked, obviously somewhat grumpy from being woken up like he had. "Even with her eyes closed you can tell. They're a lot and wider than a normal person's."
Kenshin nodded, holding his chin with his thumb. Though Yahiko's observation was rather blunt, it was true, even useful. "Hmmm..." he said as he pondered. "Well...we should wait until she wakes. She'll be able to tell us better than anyone else, that she will."
The sun began to peak out from behind the eastern sea. The reflection of the fiery orb stretched across the glistening ocean, and tinted the clouds above orange and pink. As it began its ascent into the sky, its light crawled over the island terrain of Japan, slowly bringing day to the country.
The sunlight soon found its way over Kantou and Tokyo, where it shown through the windows of the Kamiya Dojo. Inside, the brown-haired girl stirred, her sleep disturbed by the light shining over her face.
"Uunn," she groaned, pushing a good bit of hair away from her eyes. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and turned her head back and forth, looking at her surroundings. As she did, an immense amount of confusion took over her mind.
"W-where am I?" she wondered aloud, sitting up and pulling her blanket to her chest. She slowly stood and walked to the window, looking out at the landscape beyond. Unfortunately, the outside, just like the inside, was unrecognizable.
"Ohayo gozaimasu Miss." Said a voice behind her, making the girl shriek in surprise. She spun in a circle, got her feet caught in the blanket and tumbled to the ground with an "ack!"
Kenshin, who stood in the doorway, sweatdropped as the girl scrambled to her knees and pushed herself against the wall.
She blinked, starring at him, and after a few moments said, "I-it's you..." she pointed at him as she spoke, details of the night before slowly filling her mind. "The man who stopped me from falling..."
Kenshin nodded and smiled at her. "That this one is Miss."
The girl starred at him for another moment, then slowly looked down at the floor. "So it wasn't just a dream..." she muttered under her breath.
Quietly and gracefully, Kenshin moved from the door, crossed the room, and knelt before the girl. "Would you mind coming with this one Miss?" he said kindly, holding his hand out to her. "This one would like you to meet Kaoru-dono and Yahiko-kun."
The girl blinked at him curiously, much like a child would do. "Dare?" she questioned, taking Kenshin's hand and letting him pull her to her feet. He released her hand and signaled her to come with him.
"This one's friends." He said as he exited the room, the girl right behind him.
"So," said Kaoru, leaning against the wall of the training hall. Her forehead was coated with a thin layer of sweat, and her gi hung loosely on her shoulders, exposing the wrap beneath it. "Her name is Kazue."
"It seems so," replied Kenshin, who stood next to her. The introductions had already been made, and the girl- now known as Kazue- was sitting against the wall outside on the walkway, her chin on her knees, starring at the gate. A shinai, which she had pulled off the wall, leaned lazily on her shoulder. Every once in a while, she would run the end across the floor, prodding at the base of the roof supports.
"Why didn't you ask her why she jumped off the bridge?" asked Kaoru as she replaced her own shinai on the wall. "That is what we want to know, right?"
Kenshin nodded, and then responded with, "True, but it is probably best not to ask right now. Whatever inner wounds she's suffering from are still fresh. Questioning about her intentions would most likely reopen them, that it would."
As the day wore on and the sun slowly rose higher and higher into the sky, the residents of the Kamiya Dojo came and went as they pleased, passing by Kazue more that once. However, the girl never looked up, never acknowledged any of them as they passed by. Yahiko spoke to her once, attempting to get her attention, but it was in vain. She was no longer crying, but her face was still a mask of fear, sadness, and confusion. Kenshin also noticed the mist had returned to her eyes.
As shadows began to adorn the grass and the sun sat upon the dojo's roof, the gate opened, and Kazue finally looked up from the floor.
"Oi! Kenshin!" called Sanosuke as he shut the gate behind him. "You here??"
Kazue blinked and starred at the 19-year-old as he walked toward the front entrance. She tilted her head to one side, curiosity shinning in eyes that had been cloudy only moments before.
Kenshin slid the door to the dojo open, smiling as he spotted the man. "Konnichiwa Sano." Sano nodded and smiled his trademark smile in response. As he walked up the step onto the walkway, he caught sight of Kazue staring at him. The girl did not flinch nor turn away. Instead, she continued to stare.
Sano raised an eyebrow at her momentarily before following Kenshin into the dojo and shutting the door behind him.
"So there was another murder last night?" asked Kenshin. He was sitting on the floor of the dojo, the sakabato resting against his shoulder. Sano, who stood next to him, leaning against the wall, nodded.
"Yep." He responded, chewing on the fish skeleton between his teeth. "The guy's name was Ezakiya Akahito. He was a rich merchant who used to live in Kyoto. Apparently his old man had made a decent pile of cash from selling weaponry during the Bakumatsu. Then all the sudden, the old guy 'mysteriously' disappeared, and they found him dead a few days later. So, Ezakiya Jr. got the money and moved to Tokyo."
Sano looked up from his story and smiled knowingly and Kenshin. "A little suspicious eh?" Kenshin responded with a solemn nod.
"So anyway, last night one of his servants said she heard a gunshot go of in his room. When she got the door open, she found the guy dead with a bullet lodged in his brains. Lovely visual right?
"The murderer musta' been pretty stupid though, cause he left a trail of bloody footprints halfway down the damn street. They didn't catch him though, whoever he was."
"How did you find out about this?" asked Kenshin, looking up at the spiky-haired man. "Was the body not found this morning?"
Sano nodded. "Yeah. I heard about it down at the roughen row. Seems a few guys are intent on ran shaking the place." Sano shook his head at this. "Dumb bastards."
"Do the police have any clues as to who the murderer might be?" Kenshin asked, shifting positions as he spoke. Sano thought for a minute before replying.
"Well, the police don't really have any solid leads, but there were some thugs at the row who seem to think they know.
"Apparently this guy had a mistress. Well, actually, she was less of a mistress and more of a personal whore. Her name was Akechi Erika or something like that. She'd been 'working' for Ezakiya for the past few years, and stealing some money on the side. Course, one of the servants caught her a little while back."
At this, Sano paused, then turned to face Kenshin. "Guess who's body that was floating in the river the other day?"
Kenshin starred back, his eyes serious, yet not Battosai-esque. "So the assumption is that Ezakiya was the one who murdered her?"
"Yep. Right on the money. So it makes sense that whoever killed Ezakiya was somehow related to Akechi.
"Problem is, Akechi didn't talk very much." Sano continued, adjusting the fish skeleton some. "Nobody knows anything about her. I doubt she had a lover, thanks to her work. Plus, she didn't have any kids, at least as far as I know."
"Did she have any other family?"
"Couldn't tell ya."
Kenshin sighed and shook his head. Such a tangled web that had been woven. It would be so much easier if no one murdered anyone, but that was of course an impossible wish.
The two grew silent, obviously having no more to say on the subject. Kenshin heard the door slide open and looked up to see Kazue step inside, the shinai propped up against her shoulder. She closed the door behind her and made her way toward where the other shinai were placed, most likely to return the one she held to its proper place.
Sanosuke however, took no notice of her. In fact, he apparently didn't even realize she had entered the room, for that is when he turned to Kenshin and asked, "Hey, by the way, who's that twelve-year-old girl outside? She a girlfriend of Yahiko's or somethin'?"
Kenshin opened his mouth to answer, but paused when he heard a strange sound. Sano stood in the way, so Kenshin couldn't see the source, but he assumed it was some sort of animal, because the noise sounded just like a fervent growl. Then...
CRACK!
Kenshin jumped back in surprise when a shinai smashed over the top of Sanosuke's head, accompanied by a rabid, furious scream. Kenshin attempted to dodge it, but the end of the shinai that had been broken off hit him squarely in the face.
Sano blinked several times, rather shocked. A large knot was already forming on his head where he had been hit. He slowly turned around to see a livid Kazue right behind him (though he didn't know that was her name at the time). Her teeth were bared, her eyes were flaming, and what remained of the shinai was held tightly in her white-knuckled hands.
"I AM NOT TWELVE YEARS OLD!!" she screamed, waving the broken shinai in Sano's face. "I AM FIFTEEN!"
Both Kenshin and Sano alike were shocked to hear this. They both looked her up and down, though Kenshin did so more discreetly than Sano. She was rather flat chested and thin, which was what did the most to make her look young. Even though she was taller than Kenshin by about a foot, it didn't help much. After all, it wasn't hard to be taller than Kenshin.
"Are you sure?" Sano finally asked. "You don't look fifteen to me."
CRACK!!!
And again the shinai was halved.
A/N: Well, that's chapter 2. I hoped you all liked it. The updates are going to slow down a bit after this, unfortunately. I hope I don't end up making you guys wait too long.