Disclaimer: I don't own RK!!! There I said it! You happy now?!
well, based on chappie title, it's about their coming home. I'd like to congratulate my uncle for taking a big step towards priesthood!PLease remember that we would always support you! I'm listening to M.Y.M.P. as of this moment. Juris' voice is so sweet!
Sorry for the long delay. as I've said (see above) My uncle took his vows, sealing his fate to a life serving God... talking like this like I'm someone nice gives me goosebumps.
Also a teeny bit of bad news, school is going to start soon so meaning, it'll be longer before I could be able to update. With the thesis, projects and possibly a new play coming, ack! things are pretty heavy. HAha! the roles I play, I played a nymph in a lake before, next I played a soldier...I get to carry a weapon and beat up the heroes and stuff! With the nymph thing I had to dance around, they even caught me cursing ON CAM! Ack! I'm a bad girl!
12 Tadaima
After their trip to town, Kenshin and Kaoru went back with their friends eager to leave. They all went to the train station and got on the train. Kaoru was still bound to Kenshin who was now watching her every move with steely silence. As much as Kaoru hates to admit it, she found the Kenshin-gumi's company comforting. Having people around her was a change compared to her life at the cave with no one but Reiji and his books and weapons for company.
Much to her surprise, the people seemed to like her and they all seem glad that she was back. Is this how they fooled me the first time I was with them? Will they creep to my bedroom at night and finally put an end to my life and… suffering?
Being blind to the truth pained her. Ever since coming back to the Kenshin-gumi, she had begun to have second thoughts about her actions. She begun to doubt herself and Reiji. She felt like a traitor yet there was a fuzzy warm feeling inside her that made her feel happy.
She was broken from her train of thoughts as Misao offered her a piece of bread.
She accepted gratefully, but, still suspicious. Kenshin had assured her that they would never hurt her. She bit a piece. Relief begun to flow through her. She had not eaten anything but the sweets. She had offered the others before. Although surprised and seemingly tempted, they have refused.
She had told them that Kenshin bought the sweets and suddenly they backed away from her offer. After exchanging furtive glances, they contented themselves with the bread they're eating now.
Confused still, she decided not to ask. Besides having the knowledge that she might not get any decent answer especially from Sano, Yahiko and Misao, she dreaded what the answer would be. She knew it would be something about Kenshin again. Their relationship, what went on etc.
She stole a glance to the rurouni but he had fallen asleep already. His head was sagging and his chin was touching his chest. Sano and Misao both grinned wickedly and was about to tickle Kenshin's ear with a straw of grass Sano was chewing earlier. Kenshin quietly laughed as the straw begun moving against his ear. Kaoru was grinning too and watched as the two tickled Kenshin more. Everybody was trying to stifle their laughter. Sano handed the straw to her and urged her to do it. Megumi winked at her.
Kaoru did what Sano did moments ago and she was awarded by a soft chuckle from Kenshin. She couldn't stop herself from laughing anymore and she ducked trying to quiet herself.
"Say his name…" Megumi told her. Sano and Misao both nodded while Yahiko looked on with interest.
"Kenshin…" she whispered then she glanced to Megumi.
She didn't have the chance because Kenshin suddenly jerked his head. His head landed on her left shoulder with a soft thud.
"Kaoru…" he murmured. Sano and the rest begun laughing again. Everyone on that train was looking in their direction now. Megumi said words of apology while the others still laughed.
Kaoru was so taken aback by Kenshin murmuring her name as he slept. She jerked her shoulder and the rurouni woke up.
"Ah! Jou-chan! Why do you have to ruin our fun."
Kenshin, oblivious to what had preceded asked "Wha- whassamatter Sano?"
Kaoru looked at him. She remembered what she had read from the books. Battousai had seduced her. Is this how he did it?! Goodness, was she that stupid? The man doesn't even know what's going on! How far were they in their relationship? Have they kissed yet? Yes, they have. He had kissed her at the cave. But, before that? What could have happened?
He seduced her. He seduced her. The words kept repeating at the back of her mind. What about her? She looked at herself. Then, a horrible thought came through her. Is she still a virgin? Or has this man traveled the curved regions of her body? No! She has got to be a virgin! She would know, right? But how was she supposed to know when she doesn't remember a thing. These thoughts played inside her head throughout the whole ride.
She covered her mouth as she gasped. A hand immediately went up to her forehead.
"Are you alright? You look pale. Have you eaten yet?" Kenshin's face was ebbed with concern.
"I'm fine" she replied and turned her head towards the window. She willed herself to sleep and it came easily. The last thing she remembered was Yahiko muttering "Adults…".
Kenshin was very much confused at what was going on. Kaoru changing moods like they were clothes. He looked at Sano and the others and they all just shrugged. They offered him some bread.
"You fell asleep while we were eating…" Yahiko informed him, thinking this was what was bothering him. He looked back at Kaoru. She was already asleep. He ate the bread and begun to brood on everything that has happened.
Megumi found this the best opportunity to explain to the others about Kaoru.
"Ken-san…" Kenshin broke away from his thoughts and looked at her. The rest looked at her too, except Kaoru, who was now fast asleep.
"About Kaoru, well… we tried to bring back her memories this morning. We told her things that might make her remember, we showed her some of her things that would help but, she isn't responding at all."
Everyone looked sad. "Do you mean, Busu might not get her memories back?" Yahiko spoke out the question that was bothering everyone.
"Iie, it's not that. But it would really be hard. We would need a lot from her" Megumi glanced at the sleeping form of Kaoru.
"What Reiji Kurosaki has done to her" everybody cringed at the mention of his name, Kenshin's face looked tense and Sano's knuckles were white. Yahiko's brows were furrowed and Misao was looking at the ground
"What that man has done to her must have been one of most bizarre yet amazing things"
"Amazing?! What's so amazing with that? She can't remember us and she thinks we're her enemies! What's amazing about that?!" Yahiko exclaimed, his anger getting the better of him.
Kaoru stirred. Misao quieted Yahiko down.
"I want the old busu back!" Yahiko choked at his words.
"okay, okay," Megumi took a deep breath. "I was observing her, from the look on her face she didn't believe a thing we told her." Megumi sighed.
"But then I showed her the seashells you said she was collecting" Megumi glanced at Kenshin, "somehow her expression changed and then… it was gone."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Sano said in a hushed voice, Kaoru was moving again.
"She's having a psychoneurotic escape." Megumi said in one breath.
"What psycho—whatever are you talking about?" Misao blurted out. None of them were familiar with the term Megumi used.
"Motivated forgetting" she answered as if explaining something so obvious. "Whenever a memory would come back to her, she would push it away herself."
"Why would she do that?" Misao asked again. Sano and Yahiko's mouths were open.
"Simple. Reiji" Kenshin spatted.
"Yes. It had been almost a year that Kaoru has stayed with him. In that span of time, he gained her respect and loyalty, not to mention, fear."
"Yeah, there was something that Aoshi-sama said before, brain bashing, is that it?" Misao filled in for her.
"You mean, brainwashing. Yes she has been brainwashed."
"What exactly is this brainwash thing?"
"It makes you believe something and makes you accept a thing they say as fact. Like how she thinks we're her enemies, for instance."
"NO way! I know busu, she's hard headed. She wouldn't accept anything just like that" Yahiko snapped his fingers.
"She didn't accept it just like that." Megumi imitated Yahiko's gesture, "She was forced to."
"Excuse me, Megumi-dono, but I don't understand how anyone could be forced to believe things."
"Well, just put yourself in Kaoru's position. You don't remember a thing, You're alone in a cave with an old man who hurts you. You have no one else but yourself and him."
The others nodded.
"Those wounds, those wounds on her back. She must've refused to take in everything he said, maybe even questioned him. Maybe that's how she has gotten them."
"So you're telling us that when she questions anything about her past, he would hurt her? Just for asking?" Misao asked, looking horrified.
"Yes, that's the only way he could've done it. He isolated her, punished her when she asks too much, therefore he had established the element of fear."
Megumi went on, "And those books, I would bet my life that he persuaded her to read those! Even before telling her about us, he has already established some made up facts for her to believe in and that's how he messed up with her mind."
"The contents were somehow close to the truth, he had reversed the facts, making us the enemies and the enemies the heroes. After that, he gained her trust, for she could find no one else to trust but him. Then he made her hate us, by building up those lies!"
Megumi was thrusting her clothes in an agonized way, as if to calm herself.
"How do we get her back, Megumi-dono?" Kenshin asked the most difficult question of all.
"I don't know." Tears were brimming in her eyes.
"Well, we can't do it. She doesn't believe us remember?" Misao said. Everyone went quiet.
"We need someone she would trust." Kenshin concluded.
"Like who? Reiji?" Sano asked disbelievingly.
"Not exactly, but someone…Let's look at the book." They did,
"Well, we can't ask Saito to do it, she thinks he's evil too. Almost everyone is not qualified. We need someone who is not mentioned as evil here."
"The only ones I could think of is Shishio, but he's dead now, even if he's alive, he wouldn't help us."
"Ah! This is so frustrating! Does this mean that we have to ask Kenshin's enemies for help?!"
"But there's no one alive anymore, Jinnei's dead, Shishio's dead, and Enishi's gone off somewhere" Sano said with a sigh.
"Enishi would laugh at my face if he knew of this!" Kenshin vehemently spoken out. He looked back at Kaoru, she was still sleeping.
"Wait! Tae and Tsubame weren't mentioned here at all! Maybe we could ask them!" Yahiko looked up at them.
Kenshin could have hugged Yahiko at that moment. Why haven't they thought of that before?!
"Dr. Gensai, Yumi and Suzume can convince her too" Megumi added. Hope begun to spark.
There's still hope… Kenshin looked back at the window, they haven't noticed that it was already dark.
Kaoru was dreaming of a dojo. Inside the dojo were many students. One man was teaching the group, a little girl joined him and tried to imitate his gestures. The little one had raven black hair, her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. They sparkled as she smiled. Proud of herself, she beamed at the man. "Oto-san!" she had called him. "Well done, Kaoru" then he smiled at her. She proudly smiled and looked at the other strudents.
"Beh!" She stuck out her tongue as she watched the other students. Then she sped off running and shouting, "Oka-san!"
She had a restful sleep. She wasn't that tired but somehow, sleep wanted to claim her so much. She cuddled deeper into his chest. She sighed. Wait a minute! His chest?! His?! Chest?!
Her eyes flew open and she saw a man's chest! The gi revealed a very handsome chest indeed. She looked up to see whose it was and red hair splattered at her face.
"HENTAI!!!" She had woken up everyone in that train, everyone was fast asleep. She's guessing it was near night time already, about 5 or 6. She begun hitting Kenshin's head with her fist.
There was a unison of muttering was heard. Megumi and Misao uttered apologies to the other passengers while Sano and Yahiko tried stopping Kaoru from knocking Kenshin unconscious.
The operator came and said,
"Good thing the girl woke you all up. We have arrived!"
There were bustling as the people prepared to depart. Kaoru had calmed down and Kenshin was apologizing, for what sin, he didn't know.
"Dame! I'm not listening to a word you're saying! Hentai!" She picked up her things and begun to walk. Kenshin, still bound to her by the handcuffs was hot on his heels.
Finally, they have arrived at the dojo gates. No one was there to welcome them back. Dr. Gensai and the others would most probably show up this morning.
"What is this place?" Kaoru couldn't help herself from asking. The place was so familiar.
"Home…" Kenshin said in a kind of dreamy way.
They all entered. Misao offered to prepare dinner.
"It's alright Himura, You've got a handful already" then she looked at Kaoru then smiled.
They had a relatively quiet dinner. Kaoru wanted to go straight to sleep. When a voice abruptly stopped her.
"Wait Jou-chan! In case you wanna know, Kenshin's sleeping in your room…"
"Eh?!!!!!!" He was sharing her bed already?!
Hahaha! Kaoru and Kenshin! Sharing a bed? How far along are they anyway?!
YOUR HOROSCOPE: Read and Review a story today entitled, WAVES and recieve happiness. Believe me, this is the truest of all horoscopes!
Wow! I was feeling really guilty that I updated so late but when I opened my mailbox I saw 10 reviews! Whoopie! thank you so much to MizzLee, Lisa Midnight Oceans, misenagi, Baby-Kaoru-sama, Aya45, kawaii-sakura-chan and half-breed-demon-fox for reviewing you guys rock my world! Hehe... I'll try to update soon, once I get the upcoming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie!