a/n: Alrighty, I couldn't help but to keep on writing! Hehehe. I'm going to make my chapters longer now. nods nods Enjoy! There's finally some sappy stuff in this chapter!
Notes: ……. Are used as breaks now because the IIIIII looks ugly. ;; other than that, enjoy!
Chapter 3: At the Market
…………………………………………………………….
"Dinner is ready," Kaoru announced. Yahiko made a gagging noise as she placed the so called "food" on the table. "If you don't like the food Yahiko-CHAN, you can go starve yourself."
"Don't you dare call me Yahiko-chan! It's Yahiko! Yahiko, busu!" he yelled on top of his lungs.
"THAT'S IT. You will have to clean scrub the floors tomorrow, clean the bathhouse, AND do 500 strikes!" Kaoru exclaimed. "One more word from you and it'll be 1,000!"
"You can't do that you old-hag!"
"2,000."
"What! Forget you. I'm not gonna go through food poisoning AND do all those chores. If I'm going to have to all those things tomorrow, I might as well eat well. I'm going to Akabeko. At least I know I won't die from eating there!"
"Heh, yeah right. You just want to go there to meet your little Tsubame." Kaour laughed at Yahiko. Heat began to rise to Yahiko's cheeks.
"That's not true! Just because Tsubame looks so much better than you. I can't help it I want to stare at a pretty face and not at an ugly one like yours!" he said. Before Kaoru could make a comeback, Yahiko ran out of the dining room leaving a whirlwind behind. As Yahiko ran out the dojo, he saw the Battousai coming towards him. He stopped in his tracks.
"Where are you going?" Battousai demanded.
"Out…out" squeaked Yahiko. Battousai just stared at Yahiko with his amber eyes. It was not a good enough answer for Battousai. If that little punk got into trouble, he would have to go and save his butt. Battousai was in no mood to be a superhero. He has been out all day trying to contact an Ishin Shishi. No luck found. Although Tokyo was a blooming city, none of his members could be found settling there. Yahiko could barely sum up all his courage to give Battousai an answer when those violent amber eyes stared at him, "I'm…going out to…to eat…at a friend's…busu cooked…" Battousai stared at him some more without giving Yahiko any approval or disapproval of going. I know I can't keep them inside forever. These crazy kids will drive me insane.
Then Battousai suddenly said, "Be back in two hours. Don't make me go look after you." Yahiko ran right when he got the Battousai's approval. Battousai continued to walk to the dojo and entered the dining hall where he saw Kaoru munching away on her dinner. Kaoru looked at him and gestured him to sit with her for dinner. He took a seat across from her and looked at the food placed on the table. What the heck is that…is that over-fried vegetables? What's that glob of brown stuff over there? Meat? Looking at the food made Battousai slightly scared. Maybe I should've followed the little punk.
Battousai slowing picked up his chopsticks. I should just eat rice…I can't go wrong on rice. Boy was he wrong. Right when he placed a small sample of rice into his mouth and started chewing, he could hear the crunching noise the rice made against the grinding of his teeth. He could feel his teeth chipping from the hardness of the rice. Battousai noticed a pair of eyes examining him. Kaoru was trying to find some sort of reaction on his face. He didn't want her to feel bad, so he gulped down the rice. He then took a piece of over-fried vegetable and popped it into his mouth. Then he got a piece of the mystery meat. As he swallowed the food down, he could feel his stomach churning in pain. Note to self: Never EVER let the girl cook while I'm here.
"Do you like it?" Kaoru asked timidly. Battousai could detect a hint of sadness in her question. He looked up at her. Her eyes were watery; tears were waiting to spill. He hated to see girls cry; he never knew what to do. Trying to such a situation, he replied dryly, "It's edible." He didn't know what to say. Looking into her deep blue eyes made mind stop working. He was stuck. Lying was not an option and telling her the truth would just cause her to cry, which is something he cannot deal with. So he settled for something in between. Hopefully, she'll let that slide.
Fortunately, she didn't press him further. Instead, she beamed at him. Her face glowed with happiness and her smile was a mile wide. All her worries were gone.
"I knew it! My cooking isn't bad at all! If you like it, then it's good! Even the Battousai likes my cooking! Yahiko just doesn't know how to appreciate the good stuff!" she piped. "Since you like my cooking so much, I will cook for you everyday!"
Oh no…what have I done. Battousai mentally smacked himself in the head. This girl is gonna kill me.
They finished eating silently together. Then Kaoru got up and started to clean the table. She went over to Battousai's side to clean up his dishes. Standing closely by him, Battousai could smell Kaoru's intoxicating scent of jasmine. It made him shudder inwardly. He tried to clear his mind by taking a sip of tea. He reached for the cup just when Kaoru was picking it up. Their hands touched gently. Battousai looked up and he saw Kaoru's face flushed with embarrassment. He immediately withdrew his hand. Kaoru continued picking up the rest of the utensils. Just as he turned away from him to walk to the kitchen, Kaoru accidentally walked onto her kimono. With the dishes in her hands, she tried to regain her balance but failed, and she fell back onto Battousai. Battousai was surprised to see Kaoru on his laps all of a sudden. He looked down at her. Kaoru avoided eye contact; she looked at the floor. She was red like a tomato. Battousai was not prepared for her sudden movement to climb out of Battousai's lap. Her hands were placed on his thighs as she tried to get herself up. Trying furiously to make an attempt to get up made her slip and fall back onto his laps again. By now, Battousai was too shock to make any moves. He looked at her with wide eyes as her hands accidentally slipped onto his inner thighs touching his unmentionable. Kaoru did not know what she was touching or doing as she made another desperate attempt to get up. She finally got up and started to pat her kimono. Her back was turned towards Battousai, so she did not Battousai's cheeks tinted with a slight hint of red. She didn't turn towards him. Instead she knelt down and started picking up the fragments of the broken dishes.
She was too embarrassed to look at him. All she could do was mumbled, "Sorry." She left for the kitchen immediately, leaving Battousai in his shocked state. He shook his head, trying to get back to normal. This place and these people here are going to drive me crazy! Not wanting to stay in the room any longer, Battousai got up and headed for his room. On his way there, he saw Yahiko opening the gates. That brat is late. He sat with his back leaning against the wall. He propped one of his leg up and leaned his katana onto his leg. He dropped his head and closed his eyes to get some rest.
Several minutes into his resting, he heard the pitter-patter of rain. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. From light to harsh, the rain began to beat against the roof with a violent rhythm. It was raining just like this when I met Tomoe…"You made it rain blood." That I did… He looked out and saw blood raining down on the earth instead water. He kept looking at the red rain drops. Images began to flash through his head; they were images of him killing people. Slice after slice, thrust after thrust, the men fell on their knees in front of Battousai. The last image Battousai saw was the image of his best friend, Tomoe on sprawled on the fresh blanket of snow. Her blood tainted the fresh snow. We could have started a new life...The snow are here to clean the impurities away. We could have started over…"You looked so happy like this…not killing." Battousai gripped tightly onto his katana. I can't start over. Not after killing you. A second chance is too much to ask for…I don't deserve it. At this thought, Battousai closed his eyes again and tried to sleep. He must stop himself from feeling any self-pity. There was no point in feeling sorry for himself. He has made his decision, and that is to kill to bring a better future for the people of Japan.
Battousai closed his eyes at that thought, but he was disturbed by something else. It was the scent of jasmine lingering on his clothes. He could feel Kaoru's body against his and how her hair tickled his chest…how her hands moved across his thighs. She looked so innocent and beautiful. She had no idea what kind of feelings she caused Battousai to feel. Desire. It was hard to prevent any provocative thoughts forming in his mind when their bodies were so close to each other. No woman has ever made Battousai feel desire coursing through his body like the way Kaoru made him feel. Sure he was the Battousai. He could get any woman he wanted. He could release his sexual desires any time he wanted. Those women were nothing but sex slaves in Battousai's mind. Kaoru, however, was something different. She invoked something else in Battousai's heart…something he has never felt before. He could not quite put his finger on what this feeling was. This troubled his mind greatly indeed. Battousai shook his head furiously as if doing so would shake all this thoughts away. His eyes closed once again and drifted to sleep.
…………………………………………………………….
"Where are you going?" Battousai jumped off the tree and intercepted Kaoru from getting pass the gate. He stood only several inches away from Kaoru. His penetrating eyes stared right down at her, trying to strike fear at her heart. Unfortunately for Battousai, Kaoru was not in a good mood today.
"None of your business," Kaoru grumbled.
"Answer me," he scowled.
"Out," she replied.
"Don't be smart with me," he seethed. Kaoru response was getting on Battousai's nerves. Never in his life did he have someone treat him like the way Kaoru was treating him. First she was nice to him; now she's giving him an attitude! Girls can be so strange indeed.
"I'll come with you," he said. He started to open the gates when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and found a fuming Kaoru in front of him. What is up with this girl. I don't know why I even bother dealing with her.
"Look, you can go watch Yahiko. I can protect myself," she argued. Battousai grunted. This girl looks more like a troublemaker than Yahiko does.
"Let's go," he ordered. He grabbed Kaoru's arm and pulled her roughly. "We better start going before the rain arrives." As Battousai said that, he looked up into the sky to see a sheet of dark gray clouds heading towards them.
The two of them walked silently together. Kaoru was deep in thought. She can't help it that Yahiko nasty comments got to her.
Earlier that day, Kaoru woke up to the sweet aroma of food. Surprised that someone was already up and cooking, she got dress and went to the kitchen. She was shocked that it was the Battousai standing in her kitchen. He nodded at her and continued cooking. When breakfast was served at the table, Yahiko dove into the food. He gobbled his food so fast that both Kaoru and Battousai looked astonished when he did not choke on the food. After finishing his meal, Yahiko started to talk about what a horrible cook Kaoru was and how she wasn't even a girl. Kaoru jumped over the table and tried to strangle Yahiko, but he was smart enough to dart away and ran for his life. As he ran for his life, his last words were, "It's true UGLY! No one will ever marry you because of your ugliness and unladylike gestures!" This left Kaoru fuming. She had no way to let her anger out. There was no one there for her to beat up. She looked at Battousai, hoping that he would say her cooking wasn't that bad. He continued eating calmly as if nothing had happened in silence. He didn't even look up from his bowl. This pissed Kaoru off even more. She stood up and left to her room where she stayed for several hours. When she finally emerged from her room to go buy tofu, she encountered Battousai, and now they're going to the market together. I can't help it if my mom was never around to teach me how to act like a proper lady! Even the Battousai is a better cook than I am…sigh…I guess I am really that bad. I wish I was more ladylike so that—
"It's not that bad." Battousai words broke Kaoru from her brooding. Not quite understand what he meant by his words, she stop and looked at him quizzically. Battousai never turned around to face her. Instead, he kept on walking.
"Your cooking," he finally said. Battousai didn't know what to say to her earlier when they were eating breakfast together. He knew he was suppose to say something, but he was at a lost of words. He never knew the right words to say to make a person feel better. Not wanting to lie to her and say her cooking was spectacular…or even decent, he decided to tell that her cooking isn't that bad the next time he sees her. And now was the time.
Surprise was written all over Kaoru's face. She smiled softly at Battousai's back. No one has ever said my cooking wasn't so bad…not even –
"WATCH OUT! The Shinsengumi is coming!" screamed a man several hundred feet away from the two.
Shit, we need to hide. I can't let the Mibu Wolves find me here or else Kaoru and Yahiko will be endangered. With that thought ringing in his head, he wrapped his arms around Kaoru's waists and picked her up. He fled to the nearest shadowed alley. Kaoru squirmed in his grasp. She wanted to scream but Battousai's hand was over her mouth.
"Shh. Don't attract attention or you and your brother will be in grave danger" he whispered into her ear. Kaoru could feel his hot breath on her skin. It made her shiver at the thought that he was so close. Kaoru was engulfed by his scent. Mmm…he smells like woods and spice. She looked up at him. His face showed no sign of emotion, but his eyes were mixed with concern and protectiveness.
"Stop!" yelled one of the Shinsengumi. Battousai narrowed his eyes. That voice…
"What's wrong," asked one of the other men.
"I smell blood," the former said. "Search the crowd to see if any suspicious men are around. If so, eliminate them!"
That voice belongs to Saitou Hajime. Battousai held Kaoru closer to him. Shit…how the hell am I suppose to get out of this without putting her in danger. He looked at Kaoru; she looked at him back. No words need to be spoken. Both knew they were in trouble. Then they heard one of the Shinsengumi moving towards them. He looked no older than 15 years old. The sword held in his hand trembled; he could not handle the weight. He was closing in and both Kaoru and Battousai knew they need to do something. In Battousai's mind, he thought of killing the kid and run. One of his hands dropped to his sword. Seeing his movements, Kaoru knew exactly what Battousai was thinking of, and she didn't' want to see him kill. Immediately, she jumped out of his arms, which caused a great commotion. The kid turned to towards their direction.
"Who's there?" he asked meekly. He inched forward.
At that moment, before Battousai could do anything, Kaoru cups his face with both her hands and kissed him. She pressed her lips onto his lightly. Battousai's eyes popped wide open. What the hell is she thinking! He tried move his head away but she held his head firmly in place. She then snaked one of her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She pushed him to the wall, trapping him from going anywhere. The kid walked towards them. Seeing that it was just a couple kissing in the alley, he walked away. He returned to the pack of Shisengumi and told them that he did not find anything. Saitou furrowed his eyebrows. "Let's go!" The Shisengumi kept walking and left the market.
Realizing what Kaoru's plan was, Battousai smirked. If she wants to go that route… He licked Kaoru's lips and then bit them gently. It was Kaoru's turn to pop her eyes wide open. Shocked by his actions, she backed away from him. Her cheeks were flushed and she stood there dumbfounded. Trying to hide her embarrassment, Kaoru went into her angry violent mode.
"What the hell do you think you were doing!" she yelled. Out of nowhere, she whipped out her bokken and tried to hit Battousai with it. Battousai dodged the attack easily. She kept on trying to hit him. One strike after another, he dodged all of them. Kaoru was furious at him. The more he avoided her attacks, the more she wanted to him HARD. She used all her strength on her last attack. Battousai did not move this time. He stood there waiting for the bokken to hit him. Kaoru thought she got him this time. Instead of hitting him, Battousai was holding onto the bokken with one of his hands.
"Let me remind you: you were the one who kissed me first," he said. He smirked at her. Battousai knew Kaoru couldn't argue with him on that. Kaoru's face was red again. He was right, and that made her feel even more embarrassed. Suddenly, a speck of water fell onto her face. Then a few more specks. It was raining. Then the light rain turned into a heavy shower.
"We have to get going," he said. With that said, the two began to hurry back to the dojo. It was hard for Kaoru to walk at Battousai's pace. Her kimono was stuck to her skin and her sandals were getting stuck into the muddy road. One of her foot fell into a deep muddy part of the road. She was ankle deep in. Kaoru tried pulling herself out, but failed. Then she saw a hand in front of her. She looked up and saw Battousai reaching out to her. Kaoru placed her hand gently on his, and he took hold of it. He pulled her out of the deep puddle of mud and held her hand all the way home. On the outside, it seemed like he was being nice and just wanted to prevent her from falling again. However, in Battousai's mind, thoughts raced across his head. He felt a warm sensation running through his body as he held her hands, and she too felt the same way. Both were confused at what they were feeling. They kept silent as they walked all the way back to the Kamiya residence.
…………………………………………………………….
a/n: hahah how do you guys like this chapter! Prepare yourself for the next chapter when Battousai finally notices how Kaoru's wet kimono stuck onto her body! Other characters will appear in the next chapter too. Hehehehe.
