Disclaimer: Yeah. I don't own the characters. Not even the whole plot. Just part of it. Credit still goes to the original owners.
Ardour
Chapter 2
Everything was very much settled. In his arms was the Kamiya's baby daughter, and on his face was a rather satisfied smirk.
He successfully procured the key of his schemes.
"Kaoru, Kaoru… What a nice name you have." Saitou touched the newborn's cheek lightly. Kaoru made a giggling sound.
"You can thank your parents for naming you so well, or else you would have to make do with the corny names that I would have come up with, like Rapunzel."
Saitou took care of Kaoru like a normal guardian would. She calls him Papa, as any child would. He provides for her, clothe and fed her, and she, in return, obeys him unconditionally. Love between father and daughter, sadly was often one-sided. Saitou refused to love this child, and on rare occasions when he did, he would regret his actions and be aloof for weeks after.
Kaoru spent most of her childhood staring outside her window. Unlike other children, she was mostly shunned, not because of her seemingly eccentric father, but strangely; it was because of her 'non-existent' mother. Most held the belief that Saitou was cheated by that conniving woman and he was at the receiving end of the town's sympathies. His oddities were accredited to the trauma caused by his woman's betrayal and he was more than glad to keep his silence on the matter. He can live with it. Anything to keep the villagers' prying eyes away and poking noses shut out.
While other children played, she looked on. From that daily routine, she learnt the rules of many games. She knew how to play hide-and-seek, tag, but most of all; she loved the game of blind man's bluff.
This particular game, it appealed to her; she could be the 'blind man' and being blindfolded, she may not see the world and along with it all their putrid accusations and vicious looks. All will be effectively blocked out, leaving only good, clean fun for her and other children. Oh, please don't get her wrong; it's not that she abhors the ability to see. She just wanted moments of escape, whilst among people. Well, even if she did not get to be the 'blind man', she would have been contented if she were allowed into the game, into the circle of shrieking and giggling children; it just seemed so much fun to her, but for now, she could only watch.
The years of her innocence were spent in such a manner, with her being the silent outcast and the other children ridiculing her at their parents' instigations. She did try to mix with the other children, but her efforts were often in vain since they would not let her in their cliques, believing that she's a jinx like what their mamas told them and not afraid to voice out their thoughts.
"Jinx! Get away from us jinx! Mama says you've got illnesses!" they would say.
She ran away dejected, tears flowing freely.
From then on, she decided that it was best for her not to try and play with the children in her village.
Many winters passed, and without having me to mention, all of you can see for yourselves how baby Kaoru had grown. Long raven black hair restrained by a simple ribbon into a ponytail, with tendrils framing her delicate but pale face. Her most striking feature has to be her attractive blue eyes, which never fails to capture the attention of others.
Saitou now grows his famous radishes, along with various assortments of other fruits and vegetables, even flowers if the season permits. All with the help of young Kaoru, who seemed to have inherited the knack of cultivation from both her parents. Saitou became one of the best-loved grocers in town because of his fresh and crisp harvest.
Who paddles the produce at the marketplace then? Definitely not Saitou you muse, since he would have scared off most of his potential clients. The important task thus fell on beloved Kaoru's shoulder.
Once a week, Kaoru would carry the groceries down to the marketplace using a cart, and peddles (A/N: many thanks to Mip the Demon Fox for pointing out that hilarious error!I am so embarrassed. It was previously 'paddles')her wares at her designated spot. You would be thinking, by now, whether Kaoru gets any customers at all, since she is not exactly adored by her fellow villagers, but on the contrary, her business was often brisk, and she managed to sell all her groceries by the end of the day. This baffling situation arisen from the idea that poor, defenceless Saitou needs all the help he can get, and what better way to help him than swallowing their distaste for the girl and purchasing Saitou's vegetables and guaranteeing him a stable income, though it is not exactly a chore purchasing them, since his vegetables and fruits are often fresher than most. Few would admit that out loud though, most of the villagers often quote 'helping Saitou out' as the reason rather than acknowledging the superior quality of the produce, fearing that Kaoru would turn proud and haughty in the marketplace.
At the marketplace, the noisy and vibrant marketplace, not only can you hear haggles and price quotations, the latest gossip and the most jarring rumours run amok too.
"That girl, she just mysteriously appeared the day that the Kamiyas were arrested… What a jinx…"
"…Her mother's from a foreign land…"
"… seduced poor Saitou-san! That defenceless man could not withstand her aggressive advances…"
"What a wanton woman!"
"Maybe that's why he's so aloof and indifferent now, had a terrible experience with women…"
"Hey, hey, hear this, I heard that her mother, after giving birth to her, ran away with another man! What a promiscuous woman! I'll wager that her daughter must have inherited some shameless traits from that slut of a mother…"
She winced. Well that was a new low. After many years she had long learnt how to ignore pointing fingers, insinuating side-glances and controlled whispers. Market gossips were almost her only source of information about her mother, since her father always seemed to evade the topic of her Mama, and evade well he did.
She never understood why her fellow villagers did not tire of gossiping about her, for close to about sixteen years now. Probably nothing as interesting and disrupting ever occurred in their peaceful and rural village for ages now, since the Kamiyas' capture. People were always never satisfied with their calm and paced lives. They need ripples in their still waters.
She resumed her chopping.
"That'll be seven coins madam," said Kaoru.
"…" Seven coins were thrown onto the counter.
"Thank you madam." Uttered Kaoru.
She proceeded to carefully place her money in her apron pocket, entirely missing the group of hooligans marching up to her.
"Hey whore! Come here and tell me what your charges are like! By the hour?"
The groupies of the said leader sniggered.
"…"
"What's the matter you whore? Mute? I'll have to deduct your charges accordingly then!" the gruff-looking man boomed. His gang were doubling over by now.
"…"
"How dare she ignore me? Smash her little stall!" was the command given that caused a furore in the marketplace.
From the second floor of a reputable inn, the group of men looked down at the commotion happening at the marketplace.
"Another of those ruffians' brawl. Nothing I can't handle. All in a days' work, my men!" Gulping down the last of his tea, Sanosuke proceeded to head down the stairs, only to be stopped by his henchman midway.
"Sir! A report has been made that the neighbouring triads are targeting our granary! They are attempting to torch the place! Your immediate attention is required there Sir!"
"Blast it! How about the brawl below?"
"Nothing I can't handle. Run along to the granary then." His friend answered.
"Sure, I'll leave it to you then. Go down and don't let your wimpy nobleman's ass get kicked!" Sanosuke joked half-heartedly. Even though his pal here is a nobleman, his skills were far more superior than Sanosuke's own battalion combined. He just liked to make fun of his friend's noble blood.
"… …" The butt of the 'nobleman' joke decided to counter it with nonchalance.
He speedily made his way down after leaving some money on the table for the tea, seeing that his friend the famous 'freeloader' ran off without paying, again.
Upon reaching the source of commotion, he stood rooted to his ground, his mouth agape.
"A whore then, you say?" Kaoru arched her perfect eyebrow.
"Through and through." The chief agreed.
At that, Kaoru sashayed to the man in a provocative manner, taking deliberate and calculated steps, steps meant to entice and seduce, licking her lips for good measure.
The man was as good as hooked; not only the man, but also the rest of the male folks that populated the marketplace as well, the newcomer included.
Wrapping her arms around the stump of a neck the guy possessed she breathed into his ear.
"We'll see how you handle this, whore." She spat, and proceeded to chomp down on his ear, drawing first blood.
"LET GO! You bitch!"
"Not unless if you pay for my damages first you bastard!"
'So this lady has a fiery temper, eh?' thought the swordsman, whose eyes already flickered amber due to the interlude of ensnaring a while ago.
"Not any closer, or else his ear will really come off!" She announced to his groupies.
Her grip on his neck turned deadly. The cowardly leader, fearing for his life, immediately ordered all his men to back off and when they did, an audible sigh was heard.
At this point in time the commotion became the focal point of the entire market. Crowds were gathering, chattering. Kaoru understood that this negative episode will worsen her already challenged image of herself among her fellow villagers, but seeing that she did not have many other alternatives, she chose the lesser of the evils.
"Who says she is not the daughter of her mother?"
"Oh my, already putting her inherited traits to good use!"
It took all that to distract her from her hostage, the rushes of blood to her head made her lose her composure.
This ultimately gave the pathetic excuse of a leader a chance to finally pry her off, and pry her off he did, which resulted in her falling ungracefully onto the dirt.
"Why you…"
Expecting some half-witted retort from the leader or a haul by the neck or something equivalent, Kaoru was shocked to feel the entire market hushing after a collected gasp.
Feeling the brush of cold steel against his neck, the leader started whimpering all over again.
"Move not, die not" was the cold command given.
"Pl---ease p---lea---se just let me go! I'll give you anything, ANYTHING you want! Just spare my life, merciful one! Tell me what do you want now, and I'll have my men get it for you with haste! I SWEAR!" The leader was close to hysterical.
The swordsman actually seemed to be deep in consideration for a moment, but unlike Kaoru, his hold on his hostage did not slack.
'What I wouldn't give to have the lady in front of me right now' was the actual thought that flickered through his mind.
"No! Stop!" hollered Kaoru. Her already deducted reputation did not need blood on her hands to add as a permanent record. "Just let him go. I'm quite sure he would not dare to harass me or anyone here for quite a while."
"No."
"I said LET THE CAD GO!"
A firm shake of the head.
This bodes ill. If this man dies because of her, her villagers will slap on her the title of a murderer, above others.
With that in mind Kaoru charged at the man with the sword and in a somewhat awkward attempt, made a grab for his weapon with her two hands and threw her weight against the somewhat petite man to throw him off his balance. This gave the whiner the lucky break he needed, and he scurried off like what he was, a common rodent.
The man and woman in question both fell onto the ground, in a heap of red and ebony.
Well, decided to stop here!
Please give me some comments dear readers!
Review response:
To nashi
Thanks a lot for leaving a review! My exams are finally over, but I'm quite sure that they were trashy. Bleah. But your review did perk me up! And I hope you will continue to enjoy the story and do not hesitate to correct me or anything! Tell me what you like, what you hate, so I can improve! Many thanks!
Till next time!
