When Gods Hit Earth
Sweet Sakura Curls
Chapter 4: Laundry, and the Danger Room
Nearly a half an hour after breakfast had ended, Kenshin was set up in the front yard, not far from the entryway to the mansion, with huge piles of clothes and the materials needed to begin the washing. The steaming water in the humongous bucket steamed, shimmering as the liquid caught the sun and shone into Kenshin's face.
Smiling, Kenshin poured just a little bit of soap into the bucket and slid the ancient and newly cleaned washboard into the water. As he dunked and scrubbed what would be the first of many shirts, Kenshin hummed under his breath. He slowly progressed through the first pile of clothing and had just begun the second when he realized that he needed new water. Frowning slightly at his lack of foresight, Kenshin dumped out the dirty water and began to look for a hose or well.
Suddenly, the young ki he had been sensing began zooming toward him, followed by another small body. He turned around and saw two little girls racing towards him.
"Hello! Hello! Who are you?" The older of the two girls shouted up at him.
"Yeah! Who're you?"
Kenshin smiled at them,
"I am Kenshin Himura."
"Really? That's a long name!
"Yeah, that's a really long name."
"Um….I'm sorry?"
"Your name is Uncle Kenny!"
"Yeah! Uncle Kenny!"
Kenshin looked down at the two little girls bemusedly. He didn't really know anything about children, especially young children.
"Alright then, and who are you?" He squatted down to look them in the eye.
"I'm Ayame!" The older of the two girls pointed at herself.
"Yeah, an' I'm Suzume! An' I'm four!" She held out five fingers.
"No Suzume! That's five! You're four! Like this!" She held out four fingers.
"Yeah! Ok!" Suzume corrected her fingers.
"I'm six! How old are you?"
"I am…" He paused for a second, counting,
"I am 20 years old."
"Wow! Really?" Ayame's eyes were huge.
"Yes, really."
"What are you doing?"
"I am washing clothes, but I need more water."
"I can help!" A rush of water burst from Ayame's hands, filling the bucket and soaking Kenshin.
"Sorry Uncle Kenny!" Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Maa maa, don't worry about it."
After the tears had been diverted, Kenshin smiled at the little girls.
"Would you like to help? We need to get all these clothes nice and clean."
"Nice and Clean!"
"Nice and Clean!"
Laughing, Kenshin splashed the girls lightly with water and dunked a pair of pants into it, adding soap as he did so. Ayame and Sazume squealed in indignation and promptly splashed him back. Kenshin laughed cheerfully and wiped the water out of his eyes.
"Well now, I'll be as clean as the clothes, that I will."
Two hours later, Kaoru walked out of the mansion, slightly angry, ready to drag Kenshin to the danger room by his ears, to find the strangest sight she had seen in her time at the mansion. The two little girls, the youngest at the mansion, Ayame and Suzume, were playing with Kenshin. Ayame used her power to form balls of water, the other girl, Suzume, made them float using her control over air. Kenshin, looking like a drowned pink rat in his dripping gi, was chasing the balls with a stick nearly the size he was and soap bubbles in the shape of cat ears on his head. He seemed to be trying to break the ball, not really succeeding. Kaoru was about to call out when Kenshin, in a leap that seemed to defy gravity, smashed the small water bubble and returned softly to the ground.
"Good evening, Kaoru-dono. Sessha is sorry, is he late? This one did not mean to loose the time."
Kaoru jumped slightly, startled, and Kenshin turned around. His eyes were distant and polite, apology shining in them.
"You should have been paying attention. Come on. Ayame, Suzume, go back with the other kids, Genzai is looking for you."
"Yes Miss Kaoru! Bye Uncle Kenny!" Both of the girls shouted in reply and ran off the way they came.
Kaoru sweat-dropped at the name the two girls had given Kenshin, but didn't comment.
"Come on Kenshin, we'll have to run if we want to get to the danger room on time."
"Yes ma'am."
Kaoru started off at her top speed, and Kenshin jogged lightly beside her. Kaoru frowned at how easy running at this speed was, but the thought soon sped from her mind as they reached the Danger Room.
"Alright, we're here. Just put your hand on this panel and it will let you in. Here is the uniform you should wear. I'll wait be watching up in the observatory with everyone else. Good luck!"
With that, the girl bounded off down another hall, leaving Kenshin to stare bemusedly at the skin tight uniform he held in his hands. Shrugging, he began to pull in on, not liking how it felt against his skin. Not finding a belt for his sword, he pulled the sash off his own pants and looped it around his waist. He then placed his hand against the panel on the door and stepped inside the room as the door opened.
He walked into the middle of the room, spinning around in slight surprise when the door slid shut behind him.
"Good afternoon Kenshin. It's time to begin, are you ready?" Kenshin looked toward where he felt the ki of many people and bowed.
"This one is ready."
"Alright, I'll set it to the lowest setting to begin with."
"Very well, sir."
Kenshin stood still in the middle of the room, until without warning, he leapt into action, breaking apart metal object with an easy and speed that surprised many in the room.
Soon, the level was completed, with no mistakes on Kenshin's part. Frowning thoughtfully, the Professor moved the level up to five.
Again, Kenshin swiftly dispatched what was thrown at him and stood silently waiting for the next level. Frowning again, the Professor moved the level to ten, and then leaned forward to watch what was happening.
Kenshin artfully began to destroy anything that came his way. Walls, flame-throwers, everything. But then something happened in the control room.
The Professor had left his spot at the control counsel to peer down from the window at Kenshin, suddenly, one of Evan's spikes landed in the middle of the counsel, completely frying the circuits. It was involuntary, a spontaneous reaction caused by the excitement of the moment, but one that the Professor thought could potentially prove fatal to the young man testing in the room.
The setting had been turned to the most difficult setting possible. The only ones to defeat this level was the Professor himself, and Logan, at different times. They had both utilized their very different attack strengths to persevere through the level and come out the victor. This level had also wiped them both out for days, keeping then in bed for far longer then either would have liked.
As he and Gadget (a/n: Is that right?) worked to restore the controls, the professor watched what Kenshin did closely.
The man fought quickly through the first level, though it was obvious he was confused at the suddenly difficulty and slightly winded. However, the second part of the level was by far the most difficult, both physically, and mentally.
The attackers were holograms in the shape of the students at the school, as well as some members of the Brotherhood. The holograms were slightly more powerfully then the real students, but could only exist in this room.
Kenshin began slowly, carefully analyzing the attacks of the students and finding ways to use those powers against them and knock them unconscious. Kenshin was hit several times, once by Rogues copy, once by Storm's, then Jean and Scott. However, he managed to defeat them all.
Then came Logan's hologram. It was the most dangerous in the machine as Professor X did not have a hologram of himself, judging it to be too much of a risk.
Kenshin and Wolverine circled each other slowly, at one point, the audience high above the fight realized that Kenshin's lavender eyes were slowly bleeding into a fierce amber. Suddenly, Kaoru sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
As if that were the sign, Kenshin launched himself at Wolverine, thrusting the sword at the man.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu! Ryo-sui-sen!" Kenshin barreled down towards Wolverine, knocking him to the ground, but the man got up again. They exchanged many blows, both becoming wounded, until Wolverine sunk his claws into Kenshin's shoulder, leaving huge, bloody trails.
The normally peaceful man exploded. His eyes seemed to be glowing, the lavender in his eyes totally gone now, replaced by amber.
Kaoru, watching from the control rooms, suddenly burst into tears, falling onto her knees.
"You have to stop him! He's lost control! He won't come back!" Jean and Kitty hurried to her side, trying to figure out what had started this display, but were unable to calm the frantic girl down. then Rouge shouted a warning.
Everybody rushed to the windows to see what was happening. In horror, they watched as the sharp side of Kenshin's sword descended upon the hologram of Wolverine. Kaoru's shrieked as if in terrible pain, sobbing that she would loose him, that he was gone. However, just as the blade would have crossed through Wolverine's neck, Kenshin flipped the blade, and the flat end struck the hologram.
The simulation ended as Wolverine's hologram was knocked unconscious. Kenshin collapsed to his hands and knees, body shaking uncontrollably, blood leaking from various wounds on his body. Still crying, Kaoru jumped Kitty, which made the unsuspecting girl phase through the floor and into the danger room. Kaoru quickly left the girl and ran to Kenshin.
"If you had wanted to get here, you could have, like, asked!" Kitty shook her head in disgust and phased through the door into the hallway.
The Professor watched with a smile as Kaoru tended to the shaken man. He left the control room and enter the danger room. He just managed to catch some words in Japanese before Kenshin collapsed on the floor, Kaoru hovering over him frantically.
"Professor! Professor! Jean! Storm! Somebody help him!"
Jean and Storm ran to Kenshin, Jean lifting Kenshin's prone body from the floor. The quickly disappeared from the danger room. Kaoru tried to follow them, but was stopped by the Professor.
"Kaoru, we need to talk. Perhaps you would like to come to my office?"
Kaoru looked like she would rather do anything but, however, she agreed, following the Professor but sneaking furtive glances towards the infirmary. When they were safely in the Professor's office, with Kaoru perched on the edge of a chair, the Professor began to speak.
"Kaoru, I believe your powers have begun to manifest. Tell me, do you speak Japanese?"
Kaoru blinked at the sudden change in topic, but answered no the less.
"Of course not Professor, I've lived in America all my life."
"Your power seem to be mixed. Not only did you speak with Kenshin in Japanese, you knew the instant something was wrong with him."
"Really Professor? You think they're finally showing?"
"I do. We'll run some test later this week. Once Kenshin is better. Perhaps you would like to go check on him?"
"Oh yes! Bye Professor! Thanks!"
Kaoru ran out of the office, oblivious to the smiling face of the Professor.
Jean jumped as a young mutant burst into the infirmary. Frowning at Kaoru, she motioned for silence and returned to tending Kenshin's wounds.
"You may stay so long as you are absolutely silent."
"I will be!" Kaoru found a seat where she could watch Kenshin from, and sat down, prepared for a long, silent wait.
Two hours later, when Jean and Storm finally stood up from fixing Kenshin up, they found Kaoru still sitting in the chair, dozing lightly with her head resting on the table beside her. Storm gently shook her awake.
"Kaoru, come on, it's time for bed." She looked at the clock and saw to her surprise that it was well after mid-night, long after the younger mutant's bedtime.
"Is Kenshin ok?" Kaoru sleepily asked.
"Kenshin will be fine, go to bed."
"No… I want to stay with Kenshin."
'Kaoru, it's past lights-out."
"The Professor said I could!"
Sighing, Jean contacted the Professor.
'Yes, Jean. Let her stay with him. I'll explain later.'
'Alright Professor.'
"He agrees."
"Alright Kaoru, but please go to sleep."
"Yes, Professor Monroe."
Kaoru pulled her chair up to Kenshin's bed and lay her head on the space next to his chest, head rest lightly on his arm.
TO BE CONTINUED….
A/N: Ok, I said there'd be Kaoru's cooking in this chapter, but it kinda ran away with me. If anyone can guess what Kaoru's power is, they get a plate of cookies! But I warn you, it's not quite what it seems! I'll have her cooking and powers in the next chapter, as well as a bit of Kenshin's past, but only a little. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I had to send my computer back to the outlet for repairs. Which happens to be half-way across the country! Grr…. Oh well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
IMPROVED Uber Rei Model 06: Sorry for the lack of updates! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Tati1: Hope you liked the laundry scene! Thanks for reading!
Mother Nature: Thanks for giving my story a try even though you don't like A/Us. I hope you're enjoying the story enough that you'll keep reading. Thanks for the tips on Kenshin's speech, I'll try to be better about that. I hope you liked the introduction of Ayame and Suzume. Don't worry, Sano will be coming in later. Please tell me hat you thought, and if you have any suggestions.
Jupiter's Light: Thanks for the review! Hope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the last one.
Hush the Silent: I'm sorry this story is confusing for you. If you wouldn't mind explaining what you find confusing, I'd be happy to explain it to you. Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. Please review!
DragoWolf: Yes, Misao and Aoshi will be coming in later along with the rest of the Oniwaban. But they won't be in for much later. Hope you keep reading!
Sweet Sakura Curls
Chapter 4: Laundry, and the Danger Room
Nearly a half an hour after breakfast had ended, Kenshin was set up in the front yard, not far from the entryway to the mansion, with huge piles of clothes and the materials needed to begin the washing. The steaming water in the humongous bucket steamed, shimmering as the liquid caught the sun and shone into Kenshin's face.
Smiling, Kenshin poured just a little bit of soap into the bucket and slid the ancient and newly cleaned washboard into the water. As he dunked and scrubbed what would be the first of many shirts, Kenshin hummed under his breath. He slowly progressed through the first pile of clothing and had just begun the second when he realized that he needed new water. Frowning slightly at his lack of foresight, Kenshin dumped out the dirty water and began to look for a hose or well.
Suddenly, the young ki he had been sensing began zooming toward him, followed by another small body. He turned around and saw two little girls racing towards him.
"Hello! Hello! Who are you?" The older of the two girls shouted up at him.
"Yeah! Who're you?"
Kenshin smiled at them,
"I am Kenshin Himura."
"Really? That's a long name!
"Yeah, that's a really long name."
"Um….I'm sorry?"
"Your name is Uncle Kenny!"
"Yeah! Uncle Kenny!"
Kenshin looked down at the two little girls bemusedly. He didn't really know anything about children, especially young children.
"Alright then, and who are you?" He squatted down to look them in the eye.
"I'm Ayame!" The older of the two girls pointed at herself.
"Yeah, an' I'm Suzume! An' I'm four!" She held out five fingers.
"No Suzume! That's five! You're four! Like this!" She held out four fingers.
"Yeah! Ok!" Suzume corrected her fingers.
"I'm six! How old are you?"
"I am…" He paused for a second, counting,
"I am 20 years old."
"Wow! Really?" Ayame's eyes were huge.
"Yes, really."
"What are you doing?"
"I am washing clothes, but I need more water."
"I can help!" A rush of water burst from Ayame's hands, filling the bucket and soaking Kenshin.
"Sorry Uncle Kenny!" Her eyes immediately filled with tears.
"Maa maa, don't worry about it."
After the tears had been diverted, Kenshin smiled at the little girls.
"Would you like to help? We need to get all these clothes nice and clean."
"Nice and Clean!"
"Nice and Clean!"
Laughing, Kenshin splashed the girls lightly with water and dunked a pair of pants into it, adding soap as he did so. Ayame and Sazume squealed in indignation and promptly splashed him back. Kenshin laughed cheerfully and wiped the water out of his eyes.
"Well now, I'll be as clean as the clothes, that I will."
Two hours later, Kaoru walked out of the mansion, slightly angry, ready to drag Kenshin to the danger room by his ears, to find the strangest sight she had seen in her time at the mansion. The two little girls, the youngest at the mansion, Ayame and Suzume, were playing with Kenshin. Ayame used her power to form balls of water, the other girl, Suzume, made them float using her control over air. Kenshin, looking like a drowned pink rat in his dripping gi, was chasing the balls with a stick nearly the size he was and soap bubbles in the shape of cat ears on his head. He seemed to be trying to break the ball, not really succeeding. Kaoru was about to call out when Kenshin, in a leap that seemed to defy gravity, smashed the small water bubble and returned softly to the ground.
"Good evening, Kaoru-dono. Sessha is sorry, is he late? This one did not mean to loose the time."
Kaoru jumped slightly, startled, and Kenshin turned around. His eyes were distant and polite, apology shining in them.
"You should have been paying attention. Come on. Ayame, Suzume, go back with the other kids, Genzai is looking for you."
"Yes Miss Kaoru! Bye Uncle Kenny!" Both of the girls shouted in reply and ran off the way they came.
Kaoru sweat-dropped at the name the two girls had given Kenshin, but didn't comment.
"Come on Kenshin, we'll have to run if we want to get to the danger room on time."
"Yes ma'am."
Kaoru started off at her top speed, and Kenshin jogged lightly beside her. Kaoru frowned at how easy running at this speed was, but the thought soon sped from her mind as they reached the Danger Room.
"Alright, we're here. Just put your hand on this panel and it will let you in. Here is the uniform you should wear. I'll wait be watching up in the observatory with everyone else. Good luck!"
With that, the girl bounded off down another hall, leaving Kenshin to stare bemusedly at the skin tight uniform he held in his hands. Shrugging, he began to pull in on, not liking how it felt against his skin. Not finding a belt for his sword, he pulled the sash off his own pants and looped it around his waist. He then placed his hand against the panel on the door and stepped inside the room as the door opened.
He walked into the middle of the room, spinning around in slight surprise when the door slid shut behind him.
"Good afternoon Kenshin. It's time to begin, are you ready?" Kenshin looked toward where he felt the ki of many people and bowed.
"This one is ready."
"Alright, I'll set it to the lowest setting to begin with."
"Very well, sir."
Kenshin stood still in the middle of the room, until without warning, he leapt into action, breaking apart metal object with an easy and speed that surprised many in the room.
Soon, the level was completed, with no mistakes on Kenshin's part. Frowning thoughtfully, the Professor moved the level up to five.
Again, Kenshin swiftly dispatched what was thrown at him and stood silently waiting for the next level. Frowning again, the Professor moved the level to ten, and then leaned forward to watch what was happening.
Kenshin artfully began to destroy anything that came his way. Walls, flame-throwers, everything. But then something happened in the control room.
The Professor had left his spot at the control counsel to peer down from the window at Kenshin, suddenly, one of Evan's spikes landed in the middle of the counsel, completely frying the circuits. It was involuntary, a spontaneous reaction caused by the excitement of the moment, but one that the Professor thought could potentially prove fatal to the young man testing in the room.
The setting had been turned to the most difficult setting possible. The only ones to defeat this level was the Professor himself, and Logan, at different times. They had both utilized their very different attack strengths to persevere through the level and come out the victor. This level had also wiped them both out for days, keeping then in bed for far longer then either would have liked.
As he and Gadget (a/n: Is that right?) worked to restore the controls, the professor watched what Kenshin did closely.
The man fought quickly through the first level, though it was obvious he was confused at the suddenly difficulty and slightly winded. However, the second part of the level was by far the most difficult, both physically, and mentally.
The attackers were holograms in the shape of the students at the school, as well as some members of the Brotherhood. The holograms were slightly more powerfully then the real students, but could only exist in this room.
Kenshin began slowly, carefully analyzing the attacks of the students and finding ways to use those powers against them and knock them unconscious. Kenshin was hit several times, once by Rogues copy, once by Storm's, then Jean and Scott. However, he managed to defeat them all.
Then came Logan's hologram. It was the most dangerous in the machine as Professor X did not have a hologram of himself, judging it to be too much of a risk.
Kenshin and Wolverine circled each other slowly, at one point, the audience high above the fight realized that Kenshin's lavender eyes were slowly bleeding into a fierce amber. Suddenly, Kaoru sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
As if that were the sign, Kenshin launched himself at Wolverine, thrusting the sword at the man.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu! Ryo-sui-sen!" Kenshin barreled down towards Wolverine, knocking him to the ground, but the man got up again. They exchanged many blows, both becoming wounded, until Wolverine sunk his claws into Kenshin's shoulder, leaving huge, bloody trails.
The normally peaceful man exploded. His eyes seemed to be glowing, the lavender in his eyes totally gone now, replaced by amber.
Kaoru, watching from the control rooms, suddenly burst into tears, falling onto her knees.
"You have to stop him! He's lost control! He won't come back!" Jean and Kitty hurried to her side, trying to figure out what had started this display, but were unable to calm the frantic girl down. then Rouge shouted a warning.
Everybody rushed to the windows to see what was happening. In horror, they watched as the sharp side of Kenshin's sword descended upon the hologram of Wolverine. Kaoru's shrieked as if in terrible pain, sobbing that she would loose him, that he was gone. However, just as the blade would have crossed through Wolverine's neck, Kenshin flipped the blade, and the flat end struck the hologram.
The simulation ended as Wolverine's hologram was knocked unconscious. Kenshin collapsed to his hands and knees, body shaking uncontrollably, blood leaking from various wounds on his body. Still crying, Kaoru jumped Kitty, which made the unsuspecting girl phase through the floor and into the danger room. Kaoru quickly left the girl and ran to Kenshin.
"If you had wanted to get here, you could have, like, asked!" Kitty shook her head in disgust and phased through the door into the hallway.
The Professor watched with a smile as Kaoru tended to the shaken man. He left the control room and enter the danger room. He just managed to catch some words in Japanese before Kenshin collapsed on the floor, Kaoru hovering over him frantically.
"Professor! Professor! Jean! Storm! Somebody help him!"
Jean and Storm ran to Kenshin, Jean lifting Kenshin's prone body from the floor. The quickly disappeared from the danger room. Kaoru tried to follow them, but was stopped by the Professor.
"Kaoru, we need to talk. Perhaps you would like to come to my office?"
Kaoru looked like she would rather do anything but, however, she agreed, following the Professor but sneaking furtive glances towards the infirmary. When they were safely in the Professor's office, with Kaoru perched on the edge of a chair, the Professor began to speak.
"Kaoru, I believe your powers have begun to manifest. Tell me, do you speak Japanese?"
Kaoru blinked at the sudden change in topic, but answered no the less.
"Of course not Professor, I've lived in America all my life."
"Your power seem to be mixed. Not only did you speak with Kenshin in Japanese, you knew the instant something was wrong with him."
"Really Professor? You think they're finally showing?"
"I do. We'll run some test later this week. Once Kenshin is better. Perhaps you would like to go check on him?"
"Oh yes! Bye Professor! Thanks!"
Kaoru ran out of the office, oblivious to the smiling face of the Professor.
Jean jumped as a young mutant burst into the infirmary. Frowning at Kaoru, she motioned for silence and returned to tending Kenshin's wounds.
"You may stay so long as you are absolutely silent."
"I will be!" Kaoru found a seat where she could watch Kenshin from, and sat down, prepared for a long, silent wait.
Two hours later, when Jean and Storm finally stood up from fixing Kenshin up, they found Kaoru still sitting in the chair, dozing lightly with her head resting on the table beside her. Storm gently shook her awake.
"Kaoru, come on, it's time for bed." She looked at the clock and saw to her surprise that it was well after mid-night, long after the younger mutant's bedtime.
"Is Kenshin ok?" Kaoru sleepily asked.
"Kenshin will be fine, go to bed."
"No… I want to stay with Kenshin."
'Kaoru, it's past lights-out."
"The Professor said I could!"
Sighing, Jean contacted the Professor.
'Yes, Jean. Let her stay with him. I'll explain later.'
'Alright Professor.'
"He agrees."
"Alright Kaoru, but please go to sleep."
"Yes, Professor Monroe."
Kaoru pulled her chair up to Kenshin's bed and lay her head on the space next to his chest, head rest lightly on his arm.
TO BE CONTINUED….
A/N: Ok, I said there'd be Kaoru's cooking in this chapter, but it kinda ran away with me. If anyone can guess what Kaoru's power is, they get a plate of cookies! But I warn you, it's not quite what it seems! I'll have her cooking and powers in the next chapter, as well as a bit of Kenshin's past, but only a little. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I had to send my computer back to the outlet for repairs. Which happens to be half-way across the country! Grr…. Oh well. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
IMPROVED Uber Rei Model 06: Sorry for the lack of updates! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Tati1: Hope you liked the laundry scene! Thanks for reading!
Mother Nature: Thanks for giving my story a try even though you don't like A/Us. I hope you're enjoying the story enough that you'll keep reading. Thanks for the tips on Kenshin's speech, I'll try to be better about that. I hope you liked the introduction of Ayame and Suzume. Don't worry, Sano will be coming in later. Please tell me hat you thought, and if you have any suggestions.
Jupiter's Light: Thanks for the review! Hope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the last one.
Hush the Silent: I'm sorry this story is confusing for you. If you wouldn't mind explaining what you find confusing, I'd be happy to explain it to you. Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. Please review!
DragoWolf: Yes, Misao and Aoshi will be coming in later along with the rest of the Oniwaban. But they won't be in for much later. Hope you keep reading!