Disclaimer: I'm way too poor to own Kenshin (that goes for trying to buy the rights to him too) –sigh-
HI EVERYONE! Yes I know...I didn't update last week. I'M SORRY! DX please forgive me!
My excuse is…..I have no excuse; I was just very lazy and very bad and neglected writing this chapter last week (again I'm sorry!) and my computer was evil and not my friend (like always). On the bright side, it IS longer than normal (though not by much -.-) so yay! And to anyone who cares that I didn't update last week and may want to hurt me…..please don't.
Well now what are you waiting for! On to the much awaited chapter! (Yeah right….I wish –sweatdrops-)
Tap. Tap.
Tap. Tap.
Ugh. What was that noise? Kaoru rolled over, knitting her eyebrows and trying to go back to sleep. Tap. Tap. Stupid noise.
What on earth was making that tapping sound? It was driving her nuts and more importantly woke her up. Why did it wake her up? Tap. Tap. There it was again! She was up, what did it want?
'Must be a wood pecker or something.' Reluctantly Kaoru got up and rolled her sleeping bag all the while plotting ways to seek revenge upon the evil woodpecker that woke her up.
Everyone was already up judging by the fact that there were no other sleeping bags. She had had that dream again; the one with those two people. She almost saw their faces but was rudely interrupted by that awful tapping. Speaking of which….Tap. Tap.
That's it, she was killing the bird. She somewhat stiffly hobbled to the door, cracking and stretching her joints that she could move. She was still a little sore from her injuries but it was easily ignored. When she opened the door and walked outside she stared for a moment in stunned anger. The bird that had been tapping at the hut wasn't a bird and it wasn't tapping.
It was Kenshin. And he was throwing rocks, two at time, at the hut. That evil jerk! He woke her up! Her eye twitched in anger and she promptly stomped over to Kenshin. "'bout time you woke up." He continued throwing rocks idly at the hut.
Kaoru clenched her right fist, the only one she could move, and did something Kenshin wasn't expecting.
POW.
She punched him straight in the face. Kenshin stumbled back grasping his cheek. 'What the hell...'
"YOU JERK! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? I WAS SLEEPING IN THERE YOU LOUT!"
He knew that. He was throwing those rocks because he was bored and to wake her up. Honestly she slept way too much.
"That would be why I was doing that. The sun's been up for hours and everyone else is up too." He much more quiet in answering her and was still trying to recover from her punch. That had really hurt. "Did you have to hit me so hard? Damn. You got a strong arm there Harpy." He stretched his jaw, popping it back in to place with a loud crack.
It was a good thing looks couldn't kill since Kaoru stood there glaring daggers at him. If they didn't get back home soon she swore she was going to kill this guy; he was so annoying! She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing herself not to kill him and for her anger to go away.
He just continued to watch her, waiting if she had something to say but ready to dodge in case she wanted to punch him again.
"Have you seen Misao or Megumi? I think we should go now." Her tone was forcedly calm, and if she wasn't clenching her fist so tightly he might have believed her anger completely left.
"They both went into the forest about an hour ago towards where those dracin things attacked us. Don't know why though. I think Megumi said something about needing to the corpses or something; probably wants to know what the hell you did. They should be back soon."
Great. Now all she had to do was hope 'soon' was now. They would most likely be gone for at least another two hours though. 'Dang it.'
Apparently luck was with her though because only fifteen minutes later both Misao and Megumi returned. Megumi looked at Kaoru and couldn't help but stare at her like she had grown a third eye.
"Did you really do that? Kaoru that's amazing! I-I….wow. Lady Tomoe will have to this…." She started mumbling to herself in disbelief at what she had seen. To completely slaughter a dracin like that took an immense amount of magic. She was in awe that Kaoru of all people had done that. 'Yet that's not supposed to be the first time….'
She had set up a barrier to keep any other dracins from coming near the charred remains of the dracin Kaoru had killed and what was left of the other one for comparison. Lady Tomoe had to see what happened. She would understand this more than Megumi could.
"Well, Lady Tomoe's up at the castle. Let's go and you can tell her." Misao paused, studying Kenshin's face. "I'll assume Kaoru had something to do with that bruise on your face. Next time I suggest not angering her when she just gets up; she tends to be cranky."
Kaoru stuck her tongue out at her. "It's his own fault. He woke me up!" she paused for a moment. "And I'm not cranky!"
"Sure you're not. Come on let's go."
Misao turned her back and headed toward the castle. Megumi giggled at Kenshin's and Kaoru's expressions before following Misao. Kaoru had a sour look on her face and Kenshin's was a mixture of confusion and agreement with what Misao had said about Kaoru. They both quickly followed after Megumi and Misao.
s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s
Kenshin blankly stared ahead of him. He had seen the castle and city it lay behind when he had first woken up so he already had his chance to stand and gape. The city was only a few miles ahead of them and was indeed large. He could see small silhouettes, of what he guessed were fairens, flying everywhere overhead of it.
The city lacked a wall around it though, which seemed very odd. Either fairens were very stupid or very self assured no one would ever try to attack. Even though the city lacked a wall, he felt like it was being blocked from his view almost as if what he saw was an illusion. Weird. What he could see though was an ordinary city, aside from the flying fairens.
There were small crowds on the roads entering and leaving the city, with many landing and taking off into the sky. He couldn't figure out why everyone was using those if there were no walls stopping you from entering anywhere else though he figured he'd find out once he got there.
Kenshin's eyes kept drifting towards the castle behind the city though. It was positioned on a large hill over looking the city below it with trees lining two roads leading to its gates.
The castle had a surrounding wall that looked lower than what it should have been and seemed only an embellishment, not as a means to keep anyone out. Even from a distance he could tell the walls and gates were sturdy and strong yet finely built with designs he couldn't quite make out. It too looked as if he wasn't quite seeing everything about the castle.
As they approached the nearest road leading into the city, the volume in noise from the road steadily increased but all noise from the city was strangely muted. When they came to the road, only a few yards from actually walking inside the city, Kaoru, Misao and Megumi joined the small crowd to enter the city but Kenshin wandered to the side, wanting to enter at the side or something away from the crowd.
He quickly realized why everyone was conjugating at the road entrance. As he was about to walk inside he was thrown back flat on his butt. He looked up to see what had caused his fall. A pale, lavender light radiated from he had tried to enter. A barrier. He should have known.
The barrier spread until it revealed itself entirely and then quickly faded back in to nothing. It was a great dome covering not only the city and castle and part of the forest as well. So it was invisible? Well that would be why there wasn't a wall surrounding the city; there was no need. No one else looked as if they saw the barrier becoming visible then invisible. Hurriedly he joined the others. Trying to look as if he hadn't been gone but Kaoru cast him a side-long glance and snickered. He barely heard her mutter "lout" under her breath.
Soon enough they were right in front of the city entrance. Here he could see part of the barrier folding back like curtains to allow everyone entrance. They walked through and what felt like a bucket of ice water swept over him but he was perfectly dry on the other side of the barrier and not the slightest bit cold.
Kenshin turned his attention back towards the city and vaguely felt his mouth fall wide open. The city looked almost completely different now. There were much more people than he thought though still not overly crowded and the noise was no longer muted but at full volume though, thankfully, not unbearable.
The city was alive with people and not just fairens but a few other members of different races from tall, slender elves and small, glittering fairies to witches and wizards with brooms and wands to strong and proud centaurs and satyrs all clustered in groups and causing him to do double takes.
Everyone wore a variety of clothing styles, from loud and vibrant to soft and modest colors and designs. The merchants and shop keepers all wore genuine smiles on their faces, using magic and inviting words to beckon people to see what they had. The inhabitants and travelers weren't the only things to make him to gape though.
The buildings were all roomy with large doorways to allow everyone of almost any size inside. Everything was bright with color and lush with a variety of foliage. Many buildings actually changed colors, glowed, shimmered, or had moving imagery on them, as did their owners and shopkeepers' clothing. He could have sworn some buildings even moved or change shape entirely. Nothing held still here. All villages, towns and cities, even the most lively he'd been to, seemed dull and dreary in comparison to this city.
Kaoru, Misao and Megumi also looked like they couldn't help but smile and enjoy themselves though they were obviously used to everything. A few fairens called out greetings to the three of them, earning a hello or brief conversation in turn.
Everyone was treated with virtually the same friendliness and courtesy despite class though the few of higher class were treated with a tad bit more respect. Before he knew it Kenshin had wondered away from Kaoru and the others.
He couldn't help but gape at everything or explore everywhere he could; he kept himself from attempting to steal anything that caught his eye though. He had a feeling the shopkeepers and merchants would have a way of knowing if he tried anything.
Oh well, there was plenty to just look at to keep him busy. So far he had seen about a dozen inns, all huge and literally shimmering, bakeries with an array of breads and pastries, all finely decorated and delicious looking, and countless shops with a myriad of clothing styles, animals small and large and definitely what humans called 'mythical', apothecaries and all sorts of other things; yet there was still plenty of city left to explore.
After what felt hours he came to a weapon smith's shop actually shaped as a sword with an assortment of weaponry. He was immediately drawn towards it; all the weapons had intricate designs and patterns from bows and arrows to daggers and swords and everything between.
He could tell just by looking at the weapons that they were better than anything he had ever seen crafted anywhere else; Kenshin could see the obvious magic used in their crafting and almost feel magic flowing from them.
His attention was drawn from the weaponry however to two other men, both fairens, loudly discussing about two swords one man was purchasing.
The man with the swords had jet black hair, ice cold blue eyes with Doren (dragon) wings, deep brown in color. He was wearing a dark blue, well kept tunic bearing an elaborate image of a flame, raindrop, leaf, and lightning bolt woven together on his back and front with brown breeches and boots and a long, beige colored coat and two short swords strapped to his belt.
The other man had brown hair, giving him the appearance of a rooster, with dark chocolate eyes and gray with speckled black Betroe (bird) wings. He wore black breeches and thigh length boots and a white tunic, with out an undershirt, having the word 'bad' woven on the back. Both looked around the same age as Kenshin and it was apparent both men were nobles.
The Doren-winged man looked over to Kenshin and nudged his companion. He looked over Kenshin as well, staring at his scarlet hair and travel worn clothing, and grinned while striding over to him with the other following. "Hey, You're name isn't Kenshin by chance is it?"
Kenshin eyed both of them wondering what they could possibly want with him. "Depends. Why would do you want to know?"
The other man, the one with the Doren wings answered. "Our friends are searching for you. Misao, Kaoru, and Megumi. You wandered off without them. Misao and Megumi are searching for you now and Kaoru is waiting at the castle gates. We'll take you there if you want."
"AOSHI! SANO! Up here!" All three turned to the voice. It was Megumi, flying overhead, coming down to land next to them. "You found him! Thanks so much. Kenshin where did you go? We need to get to the castle. Are you two coming or staying?"
"We're coming. All done here." All three flew onto the air which was more crowded with fairens then the ground with Megumi levitating Kenshin to follow.
The Doren flew along next to Kenshin, as did the other man. "You're name is Kenshin Himura then?" Kenshin nodded. "I'm Aoshi Shinomori."
"And I'm Sanosuke Sagara, call me Sano. Lady Tomoe sent for you, she's been waiting for weeks to get you here so she'll be happy you're here. You don't have wings, are you a fairen? Any idea what wings ya have?"
"Um…nice to meet you both. No, I don't know what wings I have. I didn't know anything about all this until Kaoru and Misao. What's that city called? I've never seen anything like it."
"Its name is Amandil. Humans don't have cities like that do they? I've heard they're really dreary."
"Compared to here they are." They all reached the castle and Kenshin once again stared open mouthed at what lay before him. The castle was made of silvery stone, glistening in the light and grand in every respect with stone walls that were indeed lower than normal.
The walls looked like they were made of vines and trees due to the complex and beautiful artwork carved into them; it was the same with the castle as well. He could see real trees standing high over the low walls on the other side, almost completely hiding the few soldiers that stood atop the walls. Kaoru or Misao weren't waiting for them however and were probably already inside
The gates seemingly swung open on their own to allow them within. Inside was a courtyard and gardens with trees, flowers, fountains, ponds and paths twisting and branching every which way from the center path leading to the castle. Everything was well kept yet still possessed a wild natural look to it.
"Where's Misao and Kaoru?" Sano looked to both sides, but didn't see either of them. As if in response to his question loud footsteps approached from behind. It was Misao and she looked a little aggravated to say the least. "Figures I'd find you after going all the way down there to search. Why couldn't you have come back with me?"
"Watch'ya talkin' 'bout Misao? Why didn't you just fly up here?"
"Because, Sano, Megumi still hasn't allowed me the liberty of using my magic or wings which I still can't move." Her tone was sarcastic and irritated and she was glaring daggers at Megumi who smiled embarrassingly.
"Well you still need to recover from that fight and it is better to let your body recover on its own as much as it can without magic."
"And yet you still healed Kaoru's legs and Kenshin's arm when wouldn't it have been better if they 'recover on their own as much as they can without magic'."
"That's different; Kaoru couldn't have gotten here without walking which you can do you know. And what if Kenshin or Kaoru tripped on the way here? Both would have only worsened their injuries"
"You could have healed them! And you practically levitated us all the way to Amandil! You could have taken us here but instead we stopped long enough for everyone to go wander off, Kenshin", -she gave him a pointed look as Kenshin avoided making eye contact for fear of his life-"and make me walk up and down this stupid hill three bloody times! Do you know how long it takes to do that!" Her fists were clenched and she was rigid with anger, wishing to burn a hole in Aza's head by glaring.
"Now you know how I feel when I go down to the city forest. Where have you been Kenshin? Get lost or something?" A servant was standing with Kaoru, waiting to see if she had anything ask of him. "Thank you for helping me find them. That was all I needed." She smiled at the servant as he muttered "Of coarse Miss Kaoru", bowed and headed quickly inside the castle to finish his chores.
She scanned her eyes over al them before just now noticing Sano and Aoshi. Her face broke into a large grin before leaping to quickly give a hug to Aoshi. "Hi Aoshi! I'm sorry! I didn't see you and Sano."
Misao also seemed to not have noticed Aoshi, which was an absolute miracle, as she squealed "LORD AOSHI!" and promptly latched onto his arm; Aoshi just stood there, used to it.
"Good to see you too Misao. You as well Kaoru. It was very quiet with you and Misao gone a few days."
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious Aoshi. Hey Kaoru aren't I gonna get a hug too? Or am I not special enough?"
"Of coarse Sano, ya big oaf. How I missed you is a mystery in itself." She hugged Sano, who retuned the embrace, and gave him a playful punch in the arm afterwards. "So Misao, maybe you won't bug me when I don't come back to the castle right away from now on?"
"Honestly, you must love walking Kaoru. I on the other hand, hate it. Megumi, I want you to remove whatever's keeping me from flying and my magic and I want you do to remove it now."
"Only if you promise not to use me for target practice during your training." Misao narrowed her eyes until they were only slits and gave Megumi the iciest stare she could manage in response.
"Alright. Alright. Just don't kill me." She waved both her hands and Misao's still-as-statues wings instantly beat up and down as if springing to life and causing her to hover slightly above the ground.
She sighed in relief at her wings renewed mobility resulting in Sano laughing at her. "Misao, you really need to lighten up, you're way too serious today."
"Oh and I suppose I should take nothing serious like you? I think I'll pass."
"Hey it's always worked for me and look how I turned out."
"Yes, and you're such a great example of how we should all try to be Sano." Misao and Kaoru smirked at Megumi's remark about him as he pretended to pout. "Awe, Fox, now how could you say that? I thought I meant more to you." He slid his arm around her waist and tugged her to him, earning a loud slap and shove to the ground.
"Not even in your dreams Rooster-head."
Sano put his arm around Aoshi's shoulder in a brotherly way and faked being upset by her statement. "Can you believe her Aoshi? After all we've been through, she treats me like dirt."
"We've been through nothing Rooster." Megumi's wings bristled in agitation and her tone promised pain if he kept it up.
Aoshi closed his eyes in mild annoyance and shook his head at his friend while removing Sano's arm from his shoulder. "Sometimes with the way you act Sanosuke, it is a wonder how any of us put up with you."
Sano would have looked truly hurt if not for the grin plastered on his face. He turned his attention to Kaoru, slightly leaning against her, "Yeah well, Kaoru here will stick with me won't ya Kaoru?"
"Sorry Sano, but I have to agree with Megumi on this." She crossed her arms and shook him from her, choosing to stand next to Megumi, Misao and Aoshi.
"So that's how it is huh? Ok. I can deal with that. Me and Kenshin will be buds and won't need any of you. Right pal?" He hooked Kenshin by the neck.
Great. He just had to bring the clueless guy into it. He just stood there wanting him to let go of his head so slowly and reluctantly he nodded his head.
"See! I knew he'd stick with me unlike some other people." Sano had a goofy smile on his face; he really wasn't taking any of this seriously. Apparently no one else was either as they all broke in to a fit of laughter. Sano had let go of Kenshin's head and was now leaning against Kaoru, making sure to keep a foott a way from Megumi who had just knocked him down for doing the same to her.
Kenshin could tell Sano and Kaoru were close friends, as they were with everyone else, but their relationship seemed slightly different.. What were they to each other? He had no clue why that nagged at him, it was trivial and he didn't care at all. Then again…. he shook the thought away once he realized what he was thinking. 'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid…'
As Kenshin continued on with his thoughts, another servant approached the group of laughing friends and bowed. "I beg your pardon but I am looking for a lord with red hair and no wings. His presence has been requested by their majesties and Lady Tomoe."
Everyone turned to Kenshin as he approached the servant who again bowed. "Milord, you are needed inside now. If you would please come with me."
Kenshin gaped slightly at the way the servant spoke to him, earning barely stifled laughs from everyone but Kaoru, who made no attempt to hide her amusement. "Please don't call me that. I'm not a lord, okay? And you're sure it's me ya want?"
"Yes Sir. You fit the description Lady Tomoe gave me. Oh and Miss Kaoru, your presence was asked for as was Miss Misao's and Megumi's. If you would please follow me."
"Sure. Come on, Lord Kenshin, we're needed. You coming too Sano, Aoshi?" They nodded and followed Misao, Megumi and the servant into the castle. Kenshin and Kaoru followed last, Kaoru giggling at Kenshin's blush at being called lord and his less than happy expression at her teasing him for it.
Woohoo! The chapter is done! n-n And again, absolutely nothing happened –cries- I need to work on that…. Though, I'm sure much to everyone's joy, I introduced Sano and Aoshi! (Yay!)...who are both probably OOC -.- Well, I tried -'
next chapter I'm PLANNING (which means it might not happen) to actually explain a little about Kenshin being here (I can just see the joy radiating from all of you) and more useless rambling of coarse (again, I can just tell that you're all looking so forward to it) and that's all I can think to say so….(quit leaping for joy or I'll keep it up) by for now! –watches as everyone starts leaping for joy again and goes sulk in a corner- I feel so loved -.-
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