Author Ramblings - Whoosh! Update time! ^^ Sorry it's taken so long to update, but between college, depression, and getting very sick, I haven't had much time out of my bed. Of course, if things keep going the way they are now, one of those is going to disappear from my life for a while, which means I'll be more in the mood to update!
Chibi-K.D.: Oh yeah, I caught my muses! *Holds up a pair of five year old children by their shoe laces.* They're tricky, but I got 'em
R.D. & Karen: But Kinetic… we wanna write Naruto fan fiction…
Cb-K.D.: *Twitch* …No.
And now, to thank those who commented! Oh, they're so talented to write in and tell me what they think! ~_^ XP
Atomic Garden: Hey now, thanks a lot, but don't sell your own work short. I really enjoyed reading that this afternoon (Part of what got me inspired to update my own).
fireflies: With so many people getting confused by that little break in the action, I may have to remove it and place it at the end of the story when it's done, meh, for now it stays. Glad you like it! I'm really getting a kick outta this, more than I though I would originally.
Nigihayami Haruko: Well, he was still under the influence of the sleeping drug, so his mind was still a bit foggy, but he recognized them at the end. Let the chapter of enlightenment begin!!
Pu: Very good questions, but I can't answer any of them, because I've yet to plan out the rest of the story ^^;
BelleDayNight: With reviewers like you all, I should have no trouble keeping myself motivated! Ah! Youth! Power! Explosion!!
EEeveee: It's DONE!? YAY! I'll have to read it right away! …After this of course . Yeah, I'm a bit bum'd about losing my whip wielding counterpart, but I think I can manage for a bit.
*Disclaimer, yo*
Just a friendly reminder that most of these characters are not my own, though the storyline I'm using is. I am no way affiliated with Rurouni Kenshin, other than trying to pay tribute to the series by writing cute little stories, and trying to piss off those fans who always stick to the usual couplings by throwing new and different ones in there. Please, don't take the time to sue me, you'll spend more on a lawyer than you'll ever get out of me. Thank you for your time.
All right! Reviews done, disclaimer randomly reposted! Ready for action! Story… GOOOOOO!!! -Far too much Excel Saga… o_o;
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The Wolf's Compromise
Karou sighed, biting her lip softly. She stared up at the clouds, and though the sun was beginning to rise, she took no comfort in that fact. The quickly warming air did nothing for the cold, dead feeling in her chest. She closed her eyes, brushing away the tears that managed to slide out from her eyelids. Opening them, she blinked a few more times, and thought back to the events that had transpired the previous day.
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"Karou-dono?" a timid voice asked from behind her. She didn't even have to turn to know who it was, only one person spoke to her with such respect, even if she didn't want it. She sighed quietly, watching the sea and sky, as the sun set, the colors of the heavens mingling beautifully in the blue-black abyss.
"Good evening Kenshin," she responded, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to catch the scene in front of her in her memory. "What brings you out here tonight?"
"Karou-dono, I'm worried about you, that I am. You've been very distant since Sano's arrest, and it just seems that, well…"
Karou bit her lip, trying hard not to say anything. As much as she thought she loved Sano, she couldn't deny that the wanderer caused her have similar feelings.
"They're so different, but so very alike too. They both want to see justice brought to those who've done wrong, they're both protective, but both in their own way. Why does it have to be so difficult…" she thought to herself as the wanderer rambled on about something, as usual, trying to laugh off his nervousness.
"…and so Karou, even if you do love him, I don't think that what you're doing would be acceptable at all," Kenshin finished with a sharp nod. Karou was dumbstruck.
"…He knew about Sano and me all along!? Oh, god, now he'll want nothing to do with me!" She panicked inwardly, her eyes brimming with tears slowly as she realized that everything in her life was falling apart. She hugged the rurouni suddenly, holding him tightly.
"Oh Kenshin! Don't leave! First Sano, then Megumi, if you leave too it'll just be too much!"
The red-haired swordsmen blinked a few times, then pushed her back an arm's length, smiling at her.
"Have no fear Karou-dono, I had no plans on leaving. I just came down to tell you that, even in this day and age, a relationship between you and Yahiko would be very much looked down on!" he smiled wider, closing his eyes, thinking he had done the right thing, and then ended up sampling the fine dusty taste of the dirt road down to the docks.
"KENSHIN YOU IDIOT!!!" she shouted, storming off towards the dojo, leaving the wanderer to 'oro' his evening away as the world swirled around him.
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She smiled a little at that memory, wondering how in the hell he could have come up with a silly idea like that.
"Me? Love Yahiko? As more than a brother, hah! What on earth was he thinking? I know that we're not even in a close age range to each other… besides, by the time he DOES grow up, I plan on already being married to someone. Or… that's what I hoped anyway."
She shook her head thinking again. It was really all too much. Kenshin didn't seem to show any real interest in her whatsoever, other than as her protector and Sano, after finally confessing his love to her was…
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In his office, Saito took another long draw off of the cigarette he held between his fingers. Slowly, he let the smoke escape from his lungs, circling around the already cloudy office. Maybe Tokio was right, maybe he did smoke too much. He glanced over at his ash tray, full, as usual. He chuckled a little, shaking his head. No, he'd never stop smoking, he'd done it for too long, and actually didn't mind it that much anymore. With a little effort, he stamped out his latest butt in the tray, then leaned back, nodding a little.
"God, last night was a mess," he growled, shaking his head a couple of times. "What are those morons thinking?" Closing his eyes, he thought back to the late meeting the night before, trying to discover their logic.
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"I won't stand for this!" Saito growled, slamming his hand onto the tabletop. His amber eyes burned with the ferocity of his animal namesake, dangerous, deadly, infuriated with those who would dare try to do anything to question his superiority. The elderly man at the other end of the table, sided by two guards sighed, shaking his head a little.
"Hajime… we've already talked this though," he began, his voice telling his age, but still remaining strong. "The boy will be a diversion while our troops move in, taking out Minokin's entire operation. Of course, the boy will be sacrificed, but it's all for the safety of our country." The old man chuckled a little. "Funny, isn't it? He'll have spent his whole life fighting the current government, only to support its continued existence as he falls from this world."
"That doesn't make it right!" Saito shouted, glaring harshly at the elder. As much as he teased the rooster headed gangster, he realized what a valuable asset he was. The skills and lessons he learned through years of leading the third squad of the Shinshingumi had stuck with him, and he realized that the wasting of lives could be avoided, or lessened, if only…
"I must request that he be accompanied then," Saito mumbled, sitting back down, some how regaining his cool.
"Hajime, I don't believe that's the best course of action."
"And why not? You're sending him to his death. Would you rather tell Himura that you knowingly killed his closest companion? Would you be willing to admit that you had me lie to this boy, telling him that he had a chance of survival when he's outnumbered three hundred to one? That you would sacrifice him, just to keep your own officers safe?"
A twinge of fear shot across the older man's face as he silently considered what the head officer had just said. The guards on either side of him shuffled about, sensing the man's nervousness. Saito's lip curled into a slight grin, almost able to smell the fear that radiated off the old man.
"Yes… you forgot to take into account that Sanosuke was a close friend of Himura's didn't you," he snickered a little, still grinning. "Hmm, if only I had attained that level of infamy, maybe I would be the one's giving orders right now." Brushing off his thoughts, he listened coolly to the elder officer as he began speaking.
"I see your point Hajime. What do you suggest?"
"I have two people in mind who I would like to see accompany him. One is a special officer of mine from Kyoto. The other is the leader of the Oniwabashu, one Aoshi Shinomori…"
"Are you sure we can depend on them?"
"Indeed, I don't see any problems from either of them, well, except for my officer. Sagara has a history with them though, so they should be able to work together quite efficiently," Saito smirked a little as he spoke, realizing he was slowly but surely winning him over. By not placing himself, or any other officials in the mission, and by using outside sources, the Rooster might survive, which was in his best interest. The wolf always enjoyed having useful pieces at his disposal.
After several moments of silence, the grizzled old man spoke up.
"Very well Hajime, we will honor your request. If they are as skilled as you say, we should be able to escape without too many causalities. As always, it's been a pleasure working with you, you have a keen mind, quite useful in planning attack strategies. I trust you'll want to help lead the assault on Minokin when it's time?" he grumbled, getting slowly to his feet.
"Absolutely," the wolf responded, smirking again, pulling out a cigarette and placing it between his lips…
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"So wait, you're telling me that I've got to work with the two of you?" Sano groaned inwardly, leaning his head back against the western style bed. "Who the hell elevates a bed anyway? It just guarantee's a fall when you roll off it in your sleep," he thought angrily.
"Heh, yeah Rooster-head, ya hit that one right on the head. I'm impressed now, I figured it woulda taken ya twice as long as it did."
"Hey, shut up Broom Hair," Sano growled, glaring up at Chou, a sword-hunter turned government agent.
Chou glared back. He HATED that nickname. Just because it was true didn't mean everyone had to make fun of it! "Now listen up ya idiot! It doesn't matter if yer right 'er not cause…"
"OKAY!!!" the girl shouted, jumping between them, holding her arms up. Her long, black braided hair bounced against her back, and she turned to examine each of them in turn. Finally, she smiled. "There's no reason for us to be fighting anyway! We're going to be a team, so we may as well get used to it!" she nodded, closing her eyes, as if that would make her statement anymore true.
The two spiky haired hooligans grumbled a little, glancing between the ground and each other, until Chou finally spoke up.
"All right! Listen up Rooster head, I'm sorry, but we gotta get goin now if we plan on makin it up to Minokin's camp by tomorrow evenin'," the blonde swordsmen smirked a little, ready to unload on the opponents that awaited him there.
"YEAH!!" Misao shouted, thrusting her fist into the air. "Let's go kick some foreign ass!"
Sano, sighed a bit, shaking his head, but smirked. He looked between the two of them and nodded. "Yeah, lets get going, I'd hate to keep Minokin waiting," he laughed, grinning as he stood and cracked his knuckles. The trio made their way out of the hotel, and headed down the road to their destination, the fighting tournament.
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Wellllll… I promised that I'd answer some of your questions, which I did. But, I bet a couple more have popped up. Gimme some time, I'll answer them as the story goes on. Once again, sorry about the lack of updates. This chapter in particular was hard for me to write because I felt that I needed to give him a reason to have partners. Originally, I had him going at it alone, but that didn't seem to work, but maybe I'll find a way to make it eventually ^^; After this, the chapters should flow smoother, and faster, but I don't want to get your hopes up. No matter what though, I'll keep on trudging along, updating once a week or so at least.
Also, a bit of advice. STAY AWAY FROM GAIA! Seriously, Gaia suddenly took up a huge portion of my life for about a week when I was sick, it's addictive. Just a little public service announcement ^^;
Thanks for reading!
-K.D.
