I was thinking, and I suddenly begun contemplating why this story is entitled WAVES, can anyone guess?
Readers stare for about 5 minutes. Sound of crickets in the background.
Oooookkaaaay. Laughs weirdly you could read the story now
DISCLAIMER: I don't own RK.
THis will be quick and simple. Sorry it took me so long to update! I had writer's block (a nasty one!) and 'm really sorry! Merry Christmas!
A Painful Plan
The next day, Kenshin reluctantly left Soujiro with Kaoru. He heaved a sigh at the thought. 'There's nothing to be jealous about...' he thought. 'Oh, the fact that she couldn't stop talking to Soujiro and has completely ignored you isn't a problem?' another side of him countered.
'At least she's talking a lot again...'
'Sure, and she and that guy will be alone for quite a while, not to mention, you're going to work. While he and your precious Kaoru would have all the time to themselves.'
'That's not true, Misao-dono would be with them.' he said to himself firmly.
'Really? Then what is she doing walking beside you, chewing on a rice ball?'
'What?!' Kenshin quickly looked beside him, and for sure, Misao was there eating the last piece of her rice ball. Misao looked at him in a weird way.
"What?! Can't another person besides Sano and Yahiko have second helpings?"
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the dojo!" Kenshin almost shouted.
"I'm supposed to go with you to the Akabeko to talk to Megumi, stupid!" Misao answered him in her usual booming voice.
"Oro???"
"The plan, Himura! We're to talk about a plan. Not because Kaoru's talking and stuff doesn't mean she's fine! Honestly!"
It took Kenshin a while to process everything. He was working mechanically all morning. 'I forgot, we're supposed to talk about a plan Megumi- dono and Sano devised...'
Kaoru woke up to the usual smell of breakfast from the kitchen. She got up and stretched her muscles a bit then chose something to wear. However, the scene she entered when she went to the kitchen wasn't the one she has recently been accustomed to.
"Sou-chan, where's everybody?" she asked while looking around for a sign of anyone.
"Everybody went to town earlier." Soujiro answered with a smile. Kaoru went to his side looking at his work. She smelled the miso soup he was cooking and gave him the thumbs up.
"Why are you cooking anyway?"
"Himura-san cooked some a while ago but Sagara-san and the others had more than they're supposed to, so here I am..."
"It's good that one of us can cook. I thought we would starve!" She smiled. "How long will they be out?"
"Apparently, all afternoon..."
"So it's just the two of us, huh? That's a miracle!" Kaoru commented.
"Why?" Soujiro asked curiously. Kaoru didn't seem angry last night. Why does she seem surprised about the whole situation?
"Well, that must mean they trust either one of us to leave us like this."
Soujiro just nodded. He tasted some of the miso to see if it was alright and after agreeing to himself that it was acceptable, preceded to preparing the table.
"I was thinking..." Kaoru was still talking to him. He could tell that she was planning something. "We haven't much to do here." Kaoru gave him a significant stare. Soujiro looked at her, confused. "I've been wanting to do it for a while but I haven't the chance."
Kenshin sat in front of Megumi and Sano; both of them were looking uncharacteristically nervous or serious. Megumi was the one who talked first.
"So, are the two of them okay when you left them?"
Misao nodded. "Everything seems to be going fine." The three of them nodded then they all looked at Kenshin.
"Kenshin, Megumi had an idea" Megumi punched Sano at the side, "I mean we had an idea on how we could get Jou-chan's memories back." Kenshin's face lighted up and he listened more eagerly to the conversation.
"What we're going to do is to use Soujiro." At that statement, Kenshin's face faulted. "What do you mean, Sano?"
"Look, Jou-chan likes him right? She trusts him, idolizes him and she thinks he's perfect."
At that, Kenshin frowned and stared at Sano intently. Megumi nudged Sano by the side.
"What?!" Megumi signaled to Sano about Kenshin. As they both looked at the redhead, they saw the grim fix of his face.
"What is this plan you are talking about, Sano?" Kenshin asked calmly. Better to get it over and done with. Right now, he could only think of going home.
"What we mean is that the situation is perfect. Since Kaoru trusts Soujiro and seems to be fond of him, she would believe him." Megumi chose her words carefully. She even let the insults towards the tanuki to rest. Right now, all that matters is appeasing Kenshin so that he would be comfortable about the whole situation.
Misao butted in, "If Soujiro would tell the truth about, say for example, Shishio, Kaoru would realize what's wrong with her beliefs."
Right then, Yahiko entered the scene. He was sent on an errand while the "adults" talked.
"All her former beliefs would go out like a light." Yahiko put down the boxes of eggs he was sent to get. "Wait, if we could get that guy to talk about how kind we are, she'll believe him!"
"I haven't thought about that!" Sano rubbed his chin in deep thought. Megumi let out a giggle, "Whoever thought you to think, rooster head."
"So that's your plan?" Kenshin asked, "Has Soujiro agreed yet?"
"Well, he's just as nice as you, Ken-san. I'm sure he would." Megumi stated.
"You only say that because he was the only one nice to you besides Kenshin!" Misao added with a laugh.
"He'll understand you too, I guess, with you both being wanderers and all." Yahiko added with a shrug.
"You know, I've only noticed just now. You and Soujiro have so much in common," They all looked at Misao. She just shrugged her shoulders and said in a matter-of-fact tone,
"Both wanderers, swordsman, can cook really good, always has a goofy smile, loves doing chores... you're like brothers!" Everybody seemed to agree by then.
"Not to mention, you both talk weird." Sano added. They all laughed except for Kenshin.
"I could mistake one for the other. They're almost the same, not by looks, of course, but, by everything else."
"I kind of see you in him, Ken-san..."Magumi added with a thought. After a while, she seemed to become quiet and was thinking of something.
"What is it, Megumi-dono?" Kenshin asked. Something was amiss.
"Well, I just thought, could the tanuki be seeing you in him. That could be the reason why she seemed attracted to his personality. Her subconscious could be recognizing your personality in Soujiro's character."
"Sub-whatever? What are you talking about, kitsune?" Sano barged in.
"What I meant is that the memories inside of her is being triggered by Soujiro's personality. She sort of remembers Ken-san through Soujiro. "
"Why does Kaoru-dono have to remember me through Seta-san?" Kenshin started being confused.
Everybody became quiet for a while. It was Misao who finally broke the silence. "Well, Himura, you might've not noticed but you did change a bit, just a bit, ever since that incident. "
"Yeah, you're impossibly quieter, too broody for your own good and busu's gets frustrated by you fretting over everything about her. " Yahiko's words stung Kenshin like no other. Had he really changed? What he fears is that Kaoru night mistake her 'remembering' of Kenshin for love. He really felt like coming home. When he told his friends about this however...
"But, you promised Tae you'll help around." Kenshin couldn't bear to tell them what he was really worrying about. He just had to sit on it.
Kaoru jumped around the meadow picking flowers here and there. Soujiro watched her from faraway. After she had tired of picking flowers she went towards Soujiro and gave him some. She picked a flower and put it behind her ear.
"How do I look?" she showed Soujiro the flower and he gave her an approving nod.
"You'll surely get Himura-san's attention with that." he commented. At that statement, Kaoru frowned and took off the flower. "I'm not doing this for him."
"But you seemed so eager to talk about him a while ago."
Kaoru glared at him. "Sou-chan, you tease me too much. Himura has nothing to do with my happiness or gathering of flowers. I simply wanted to do it."
"Well then, what are you planning to do with the rest of the flowers? There are too many of them to put them all on your hair."
"I could make a wreath for you..." Kaoru said jokingly. Soujiro's smile seemed to falter and he became a bit paler. Kaoru laughed at his reaction. "Just kidding, let's put them in the dojo. We could use a bit of its fragrance."
They walked towards the dojo when it was well past noon.
Kenshin finally came home. It was well past noon and he was a bit worried by now. He immediately went to look for Kaoru and Soujiro.
He checked the kitchen, the rooms, the bathhouse and everywhere else. Anxiety grew inside him and he almost scared Yahiko and Sano when he went out to tell them.
"Sano, Yahiko, they're both missing!" he looked frantically around him for any sign of the two.
"Kenshin, they can't be. Stop walking around!" Sano tried calming the rurouni down.
"What made us trust that we could leave them?!" he said angrily. Yahiko called to them both and pointed towards Kaoru and Soujiro walking side by side. Beside him was Kaoru with a bouquet of flowers at hand and one behind her ear. Soujiro was looking pleasantly at her. It was more than Kenshin could take.
Soujiro, seeing Kenshin's grim face as they walked towards the dojo put a hand in front in front of Kaoru to stop her.
"Where have you been?" Kenshin looked directly at Kaoru then to the flower behind her ear. His jaw seemed to clench and he tried controlling his anger.
It was Soujiro who tried to spare Kaoru from explaining. "Himura-san, I could explain all these. You see, we went to the meadow in the outskirts of town to gather flowers because Kamiya-san thought they were beautiful and--"
"You could've at least told me, then I would've come with you."
"Well, nobody else seemed to have had the time except for Soujiro so I asked him." Kaoru explained calmly.
"What made you think we don't have the time for you? You know you can't leave the house without any of us."
"Oh, and I supposed Soujiro isn't one of the people you're referring to?" The others just stood there watching Kenshin and Kaoru start to fight.
"All I'm saying is that we wouldn't want to lose you, Kaoru." At that, Kaoru was pissed off.
"Lose me? What? You think I'm going to run off again?" she let out a sarcastic laugh and looked straight at Kenshin. "I don't need to hide, you always find me anyway!"
"Yes I do. But running off with someone to who knows where…"
"The meadow."
"I don't care where the hell you've been. All I'm saying is that you could've at least told us where you were going."
"Are you trying to imply something, Himura?" Kaoru's hold on the flowers tightened. She said beneath her breath, "So much for trust!"
"Yes, so much for trust. I leave, trusting that everything would be normal when I come back, but then, I find out that you have run off with another man and you saying you just went to pick flowers! What time is it anyway? It's almost dark! You did seem to enjoy each other's company!
Kaoru felt tears starting to sting her eyes. She walked past Kenshin towards the dojo gates.
"We're not done talking yet." Kenshin almost shouted at her. She ripped off a note that she attached at the dojo gate and threw it at Kenshin.
"Well, maybe if you spent more time trying to look harder for a note then you wouldn't be so worried about me running of with a man!"
"What note?" Kenshin asked confusedly.
"The note stuck on the dojo gate that says, "GONE TO THE MEADOW. WE'LL BE BACK WITH FLOWERS."!" Kenshin read the note and surely enough that was what was exactly written in the piece of paper.
Kenshin stared guiltily at Kaoru who seemed like she was starting to cry. "Maybe you're looking for the flowers." She raised the bouquet and threw it at Kenshin. "Shove it to your face!"
Kaoru went towards her room and Misao followed her. Kenshin only stood there, stupidly holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand as he watched her walk away.
Kenshin felt Sano's hand on his shoulder. "Man, Kenshin, That was the worst lovers' quarrel I've seen in years."