The Frog Swordsman
Part Three
By Maria Cline
The sun beat down as a pair of unlikely travelers walked down the road. Kaoru sighed as she sat next to a tree and got out her knapsack. She pulled out a piece of bread and broke off a piece of it. "Here you go." The princess in exile said as a frog came out and sat on her lap.
"No thank you, Kaoru-dono. You must save your food. I can live off of bugs." Kenshin said politely as he hopped off and started to get into the tall grass.
"Don't stray too far." Kaoru warned as she ate her bread and glanced to see a rushing stream attached to a still lake. She went up and filled her canteen at the stream. After taking a long drink, she filled it up again and leaned against the cool tree. It had been several days since she and Kenshin had left her castle and forced into exile. Ever since that day, she had to live off of her rations and the woods themselves. Kenshin had been able to show her what kind of berries and plants are safe to eat and she could fish with a hand made pole. The only things she refused to eat are frogs for obvious reasons.
She didn't mind being exiled out of her kingdom. True, she did miss her castle, fine food, and vast wardrobe but she enjoyed the freedom of going wherever she want and do whatever she want. However, she missed her family and it still hurt for her to be tossed out just because she was herself.
"Excuse me?"
Kaoru glanced up to see a young girl in a long red hood holding a picnic basket. "Is this the way to Sweet Meadows Road? I'm going to my grandmother's house and I got a little lost."
"Oh, I don't know myself. This is my first time out here but maybe I have a way to help but first I need to find my friend." Kaoru confessed as she bowed, "Kenshin? Where are you?"
"Right here, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin said as he hopped back with pieces of cricket at the edge of his mouth.
"Did that frog just… talk?" The girl in the red hood asked wide eyed. "Is he… an enchanted prince?"
Kenshin and Kaoru facefaulted and Kenshin shook his head. "I am not a prince. I am simply a talking frog who can turn into a toad whenever I wish. My name is Kenshin."
"And I'm Kaoru." Kaoru said as she bowed.
The girl bowed politely. "My name is Tsubame. I am going to my grandmother's house to deliver some medicine and baked goods for my mother but I got lost."
"I wish I can help you." Kenshin said regretfully.
"Don't worry, I can help." Kaoru took off her ball necklace and held it high in the air. "This is a magic necklace my grandfather gave me. Golden ball show me the way to Tsubame's grandmother's house."
The ball glowed and a map appeared in thin air. One spot was blinking and it said, "You are here." And then it showed a house icon with the words, 'Grandmother's house'.
"Okay, we just go that way." Kaoru pointed down the road.
Kenshin looked at the map and said, "Ummm… Kaoru-dono, south is that way." Kenshin said as he pointed the other way.
The woman looked up at the sun that was just peeking out of the clouds and nodded. "Oh yeah. Thanks Kenshin."
"Thank you, Kenshin-san, Kaoru-san." Tsubame bowed deeply. "I better go."
"We better go with you." Kaoru supported as she followed the girl. "These woods can be dangerous and there's strength in numbers."
"Are you sure? Don't you have to go somewhere?" Tsubame asked softly.
"No, we don't." The woman patted her on the shoulder.
"Oh, okay."
The two women walked down the road with Kenshin in Kaoru's arms. Tsubame glanced her new friends. The girl gasped as she looked at Kaoru again. There was something oddly familiar about her and her necklace she couldn't figure out. "Ummm… excuse me, I know that we just met but you seem oddly familiar."
Kaoru paused. In her normal clothes, she wasn't recognized as a princess. She thought long and hard and said, "Well, I used to be the princess of the Kamiya Kashin Kingdom but I'm exiled. Don't tell anyone."
Tsubame gasped as she knelt down on the ground. "Oh my! I didn't recognize you! Forgive me."
"That's okay." Kaoru pulled the younger girl up. "I don't want to be recognized. I just want to be treated like any other woman."
The girl sighed in relief. "I am so sorry about this."
"I don't mind."
"What about you, Kenshin-san, why can you talk?" Tsubame asked.
The frog remained silent as he looked down. Finally he said, "That is just the way I am. I am not special."
"You are to me." Kaoru comforted as she petted the frog's head. "Kenshin's modest; a little too modest."
Tsubame giggled. "You're not like other princesses I heard of, Kaoru-san. I heard they are very proper and so sensitive they couldn't sleep on a mattress with a pea under it."
"Ha! That's a laugh! I'm not at all like that." Kaoru laughed as she took a deep breath.
Kenshin smiled and then he stiffened. "K-Kaoru-dono."
The two looked down at the shaking frog. "Kenshin, what's wrong?"
A tall man came out of the woods. He was dressed in a medicine peddler's outfit and he grinned. He was tall with long limbs and strange beady eyes. "Hello, ladies, how are you today?"
"Fine." Tsubame bowed back. "We are going to my grandmother's house on Sweet Meadows Road. Are you going there too?"
"No. I am just passing through." The man smiled and then stared at the frog. The frog glared back. "I must go. Goodbye!" He waved and walked off.
"He seems nice." Kaoru said as she waved back.
Kenshin let out a loud ribbit.
"What is it?" The woman asked.
"I… he… there is something not right about that man." Kenshin said as he settled back into Kaoru's arms.
"I see." Kaoru couldn't help but feel a little worried. This was the first time Kenshin seemed scared of a complete stranger; unless her friend knew the medicine man from somewhere. She shook her head.
"This way." Tsubame said as she pointed forward. They walked by a house made out of gingerbread, a cottage with seven dwarves working outside, and a bizarre house that kept on changing colors from pink to blue. Finally, they reached a quaint cottage with pink plastic flamingos in front. "Here it is." She came up to the door and knocked hard. "Grandma! I'm here and I have brought some friends!"
"Come in." A strange high pitch voice came from the cottage.
The girl opened the door and saw a figure huddled in the bed. "Grandmother, are you okay?!"
The figure nodded. "I'm so happy to see you, little granddaughter. I'm not feeling too well. Come closer."
Tsubame and Kaoru came closer. The girl gasped and said, "Grandmother, what big hands you have."
"The better to hold you with my dear."
Tsubame and Kaoru stepped closer. The girl gasped and said, "Grandmother, what big ears you have."
"The better to hear you with my dear."
Tsubame and Kaoru stepped next to the head of the bead and the girl gasped. "Grandmother, you smell like smoke."
"… That was not part of the pattern." The figure tossed off the blanket and revealed the medicine man with a katana in his hand.
"EEK!" Tsubame screamed as she ran back.
"Give me the frog and no one will get hurt." The swordsman said as he pointed his sword at Kaoru.
"No!" Kaoru held Kenshin to her chest. "Kenshin, do you know him?" She whispered to her friend.
Kenshin stared at the man. "Hai, he is Saitou Haijime of the Shinsengumi Samurai. He's one of the strongest swordsmen in the world. Do as he says. He won't hesitate to kill you."
"But- what about her grandmother?" Kaoru asked pointing to Tsubame who was shivering.
"She's fine. I gave her a light sleeping potion. She's in the cellar unharmed." Saitou said as he took out a cigarette and lit it.
"Kaoru-dono, let me go. He wants me." Kenshin said as he tried to pull away.
"But… he… he…"
"I won't hurt him." Saitou vowed, "You have my word as a samurai."
Kaoru looked down at Kenshin and then at Saitou. Ever since she was a little girl, she heard of how powerful the Shinsengumi were. They were fast, loyal, and would kill themselves if they ever broke the rules. Finally, reluctantly, she handed Kenshin to Saitou. "If you hurt him in any way, I will make your life miserable." Kaoru vowed.
"Strong words coming from an exiled princess." Saitou smirked as he held the frog firmly in one hand with his sword in the other. "Now, go out and check the woman. It will take a moment."
"Right." Kaoru said as she and Tsubame went outside.
"I'm so sorry." Tsubame whispered as she looked down. "You and Kenshin-san had been so nice and now he's… he's…"
"He'll be fine." Kaoru patted her on the shoulder. "Kenshin is a very special frog. He'll be fine. We'll just check on your grandmother and then try to get Kenshin back."
"But… what if… what if… something happens to him?" Tsubame said as she rung her hands.
Kaoru got out her bokken and held it up. "Then, I'll kill him."
Saitou smirked as he closed the door and stared at the frog in the chair. "You've shrunk from the last time we met."
"Not funny." Kenshin glared back. "What do you want, Saitou?"
"Can't a man check on an old friend?" The man asked as he bowed down and blew smoke on the frog.
"We were never friends. Cough" Kenshin coughed, "Are you going to kill me now?"
"Ha! Don't be ridiculous. I can never find pleasure in killing a mere frog like you." Saitou laughed as he sat down. "What can you do, give me warts?"
The frog glared at him. "How did you know what happened to me?"
"I have my ways. You are half the man you used to be." Saitou studied him further, "Make that one-fourth."
"Ha ha."
"Still, how do we make you normal? An enchanted prince must be kissed by a beautiful woman but you are no prince." Saitou wondered as he sat down next to the frog tapping on his cigarette.
"I… I don't know. The one who made me this way didn't bother to tell me." Kenshin stared down sadly.
"I see." Saitou looked out of the window to see Kaoru helping an old woman out of the cellar. "That princess is nice to you. I bet given the proper motivation, you can snap out of it…"
"LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Kenshin pleaded as he stared up.
"You like her. Interesting. Don't worry, I doubt you could go back even if you wanted to."
"What makes you think that I like being like this?" Kenshin asked as he glared at him.
"I don't know, it's a sure way of getting kissed by lovely women." Saitou chuckled slightly.
"Saitou…" The frog's eyes hardened at him.
The samurai picked up the frog. "Well, you still have that manslayer aura. Good. Here's a tip, work on becoming the demon again. Mistakes of the past are going to haunt you again and could hurt the princess."
Kenshin's eyes widened. "Not Kaoru-dono. I would rather croak than let her suffer."
"Bad pun." Saitou shook his head as he got out of the house where Kaoru, Tsubame, and Tsubame's grandmother were waiting.
"Kenshin!" Kaoru gushed as she ran up and took the frog away from the swordsman. "Did he hurt you?"
"I didn't hurt a bump on his slimy head." Saitou said as he put on his hat. "I must go. One last tip, don't talk to strangers, next time you might not meet someone as nice as me." He smirked as he went into the woods. A wolf's howl echoed throughout the distance.
"Thank you for your help." Tsubame's grandmother said as she sipped some tea. "Tsubame-chan told me about your problem, Princess Kaoru."
"Please, just call me 'Kaoru'. I'm not really a princess any more. Besides, it's our fault this happened to you." Kaoru laughed as she sipped tea.
"Very well, Kaoru-chan. I really don't mind. An old woman like me needs some excitement once in a while." The elderly woman nodded.
"What will you do now, Kaoru-san?" Tsubame asked.
"I don't know." Kaoru confessed, "I could stay at another castle but I don't want to get roped into marrying a prince. I'm thinking about just surviving on my own."
"It will be hard but you seem like a strong woman." Tsubame's grandmother smiled slightly. "Any princess who cares about a frog who's not an enchanted prince must be very willful. No offence, Kenshin."
"None taken." Kenshin said from his place sipping some green tea.
"Well, I have some friends in the business district who needs a helper like you. Just show them this card and they will help you." Tsubame's grandmother said as she gave Kaoru a metallic card.
"Thank you. That will be a great help. Ummm… but I don't want anyone to know that I was a princess. I don't want to be treated any differently just because I was born in the castle." Kaoru reasoned.
"Of course."
"I won't say anything either, Kaoru-san." Tsubame promised.
"Thanks." Kaoru smiled at the two. She had never met anyone so close before. Hopefully, someday, she can be just as close to her own family.
Later that night, Kaoru and Kenshin were lying in Tsubame's grandmother's spare bedroom. "This is nice to sleep in a real bed again." The woman sighed as she put both hands behind her head. She looked at Kenshin who was being quiet. "Kenshin, what did that guy want with you?"
The frog fidgeted and replied, "I… he just wanted to talk. That's all."
"I see." Kaoru put her hand onto his head. "Kenshin, you have to tell me what's wrong. I know something is bothering you."
"I… I do not wish to be a burden to you, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin hopped a couple feet and turned toward her. "You are so kind to me and you had been through so much already. I cannot add on to that."
Kaoru frowned as she picked up the frog and held him to her chest. The frog gulped as he felt the warmth emanate through his body. "Kenshin, you cannot carry this burden yourself. I care about you. That's why I won't force you. But remember, if you ever want to talk about this, I will listen. I want to help."
"I see." Kenshin said and then remained silent.
King Kamiya sighed as he looked at his armor. Queen Kamiya stood with Arthur at the side with his sword in hand. The king looked up with tired eyes and asked, "Arthur, are my children out of the kingdom?"
"Yes, we received word that former princess Kaoru is deep in the next kingdom. She still has the frog with her. Princess Megumi is in the tower and Prince Yahiko had just reached the potter's house."
"I see." The king nodded as he picked up his sword and put it at his side. "And everyone knows that I was punishing them, correct?"
"Yes, sir. There are rumors that something happened and now you hate them for it."
"Good." King Kamiya stood up and closed his eyes. "They hate me, especially Kaoru-chan."
"They will understand." Queen Kamiya said as she held his hand. "But, I will not leave. My place is with you."
"Thank you. Right now, let's focus on making sure this prophesy does not come true."
To Be Continued...