Sol Sagev is a place based off of Los Vegas. Anything you recognized from fairy tales or Rurouni Kenshin or any other anime doesn't belong to me. I also have nothing against divorce lawyers. Enjoy!

The Frog Swordsman

Part 12

By Maria Cline

The night air was cold as Kaoru sat in the magic ladle with Kenshin in her hands. She looked around to see Archane, and her baby asleep with Rumpy guiding from the top.
"Kenshin, are you okay?" Kaoru asked concerned.

"Hai… I just… I was just thinking." The frog looked up. "I think the curse on me has been weakening. I don't know why though. I could talk on my own and I managed to be five feet tall for a while."

"That was weird. It could be that kiss." Kaoru blushed as she thought about that kiss before the transformation.

"Maybe, but I was kissed before and there was no change. It could be you."

"Maybe… if I kiss you again, you will go back to being a fighting frog." Kaoru blushed even brighter.

"You better wait until we get onto the ground before we do that. This ladle can only carry so much." Rumpy said as he came up.

"Say, Rumpelstilskin-san, may I ask if you know how to reverse my curse?" Kenshin asked, "I was cursed by a witch ten years ago into being a frog and she sacrificed her step-brother's arm to do it."

"Oh, a sacrificial spell. Those are the strongest spells in the world. They are not your typical curse, that's for sure. That witch must really have a grudge against you."

"Yes." Kenshin said sadly.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. I do know that sacrificial spells are empowered by great hatred and anger. Perhaps, the way to cure you is to make the witch forgive you."

"I doubt it. She and her brother hates me. If they see me, they will kill me and eat me up."

"Ah…" Rumpy nodded. "Well, true but you know what they say, the line between love and hate is paper thin."

"Ummm… Rumpy, when will we get there?" Kaoru asked as she shivered, "We've been flying over nothing but desert all night."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Sol Sagav is an oasis where people lived and thrived. Most people fly on dragons to get there or by the travel tunnels. A few gifted can actually fly there themselves. It's protected by the endless desert so it's safe." Rumpy grinned as he looked out.

"Well, maybe we can find a way to help Kenshin and Archane in the mean time." Kaoru said as she looked out as well. "Oh my god." In the distance, there were towers touching the sky, pictures on bill boards advertising mages and trainers. The closer they were, the brighter everything became. Kenshin gasped as the ladle landed on the outskirts of the city.

"It's huge." Kenshin gasped out.

"What is?" Archane got up and she looked out to see the city. "Look at that. There's nothing like it in Spinstera." She held the baby up and cooed, "See that? That's our new home. It's it pretty?"

Richard looked at it and wailed.

"Well, don't worry, it may be loud but kids live in here too." Rumpy said as the group got out of the ladle. "Magic Ladle, go back until I need you again." He commanded. The ladle flew up and vanished into the sky. The old man sighed, "Now, we can go into a hotel and rest for a while. Heh, if you can."

"What do you mean?" Kaoru asked feeling overwhelmed by the city.

"This city is most active at night because it's so cool and… well, this city never sleeps like the other kingdoms. Don't worry, you'll have loads of fun." The old man smirked and walked into a huge building.

The others followed and saw how bright everything was. It was like a grand palace only with many people dressed in different clothes from different kingdoms. Rumpy came back from the front desk and said, "Well, everything is set. I have some money on me and we can stay for a while. We can ask this divorce lawyer I know. He's real good, he took care of my last three wives for me. We can go tonight or tomorrow."

"Let's rest first." Kaoru suggested, "We're all tired and I really need to sleep."

"Of course."

Kaoru sighed in relief as she came out of the bath. "That felt so good." She said as she lay in the bedroom. She was dressed in a yukata. The woman gazed at the frog who was eating some crickets. "Where did you get those?"

"Room service. Those guys carry everything." Kenshin said as he finished his crickets.

"Ah…" Kaoru nodded as she sat down beside him. "So… um… Kenshin, do you mind if we find out if my kiss can help you?"

Kenshin gulped as he looked down. "Er… ah… no, not at all. I like your kisses. I mean- you have nice lips. But, I am not thinking any hentai thoughts at all."

"Sure. Right. This is just an experiment." Kaoru said as her face became beet red again. She bent down and kissed him on the head. At once, Kenshin felt warm and in a flash of light transformed into a giant frog.

"It feels good to be tall again." Kenshin said as he got down from the table and felt himself.

"I like you like that. It's easier to speak to you when I can see you eye-to-eye." Kaoru came up and traced her finger on Kenshin's scar. "Your scar is more obvious though. I never saw it until now."

"I know." Kenshin said as he felt his scar with a webbed hand.

"How did you get that scar? It's so weird."

"I… it is a long story." Kenshin looked down.

The woman saw how much sadder the frog was. "I understand. You know, we should get you some clothes to wear while you're in that form. You can wear some of mine since we're the same height."

"You do not have to do that, Kaoru-dono." Kenshin replied.

"But, you're naked and… well… it's obvious now that you're five feet tall." Kaoru got out her gi and hakama. "It might help."

"All right." Kenshin accepted the clothes. He was eager to wear some real clothes for the first time in ten years. He held the Hakama up and then blushed. "Umm…" He tried to wrap it around his waist and after several minutes he looked at Kaoru helplessly and said, "I forgot how to tie this."

"Really?"

"Hai, while I was trapped in my small frog form, I mentally sword practice but I forgot to mentally practice putting on clothes. I'm sorry."

Kaoru giggled to herself as she stood up and helped him. "No, don't be. I want to help." She came up and started to tie it up on him. If he could blush, Kenshin would be beet red right now. Her hands were gentle on his slimy skin. After a few moments, Kaoru got up and said, "There. That should do it."

"Ari-Arigato." Kenshin stuttered out as he looked down.

The woman smiled as she checked him. "Can you do this by yourself the next time?"

"H-Hai."

"Helping him get dressed up?" Rumpelstiltskin said as he opened the door and smirked. "Ah young love. Nothing gets between a woman and her frog assassin."

"Ummm… Rumpelstiltskin-sensei, can you please not tell anyone else that I was an assassin?" Kenshin whispered loudly.

"Sure sure. I don't blame you for wanting to keep your past a secret. You are an interesting fellow, Kenshin. A very interesting fellow in deed." The short man smirked as he opened the door and walked out. "Good night."

Kaoru ran up and locked that door. "That old man is irritating. He's… I don't know what the deal is with him."

"I know but he can help us and he was sharp enough to see that I was not a normal frog."

"I suppose… and we still need that gold thread to sew up Hiko's cape." Kaoru glanced at Kenshin and asked, "Say, what did you look like, before you became a frog?"

"I… I don't really remember. I did remember having hair and a human form but… but I can't remember what I really looked like." Kenshin stared down. "Sorry."

"Don't be. Besides, it might be better for it to be a surprise when we find a way to get you back to being a human again." Kaoru said as she patted his hand.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Kaoru got up and noticed there was only one bed. "Oh boy… look, you can sleep in the bed tonight. It must have been years since you got to sleep in one lying down."

The giant frog shook his head. "We don't know how long this will last this time. Besides, I would feel more comfortable sleeping sitting up." He sat on the floor with his back onto the wall with one knee up and his head down.

"Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"No, not really. In fact, if I were to sleep on my back, I couldn't sleep."

"I see."

Kaoru lay on her bed as her friend sat against the wall. She glanced at Kenshin who had his head bowed down and his body was relaxed. The woman got up and covered him with a blanket.

The clock chimed as Kaoru woke up to some frantic ribbits. "Kenshin?" Kaoru got up and saw her blanket lying on the floor with a tiny bump in the middle.

"KAORU-DONO!" He cried out as loud as he could.

"Oh no!" The woman went down and took off the blanket and saw Kenshin in his tiny frog form lying on his back with swirls in his eyes.

"Oro…"

"I'm so sorry. I thought you might be cold so I put a blanket over you. I didn't think that you could get smothered by it." Kaoru said as she picked him up and cradled him.

"I'm alright. I was just overwhelmed that is all." Kenshin said as he tried to smile.

Kaoru looked through the blanket and saw the clothes she loaned to Kenshin were gone. "Where are your clothes? Did you take them off?" Kaoru asked.

"No. I don't know what happened. I thought I was wearing them." Kenshin said confused.

"Maybe, you took it with you when you changed back. We don't know how this happens or even why it's my kiss that did this." Kaoru blushed as she touched her lips.

"I don't know but maybe we can find out here."

"Right. Let's go and get something to eat."

After Kaoru got dressed and ready, she carried Kenshin downstairs to the restaurant where they saw Archane feeding her baby. "Ah, Kaoru-san, Kenshin-san, how are you feeling?" The former queen asked as she started to burp Richard.

"Fine, thanks." Kaoru sat down and put Kenshin onto the table. "Where's Rumpy?"

Archane looked around. "I don't know. He was here just a moment ago."

"I hope he didn't get too far away." Kaoru said as she sat down and got out a menu.

A pretty girl with wearing a French maid outfit came up and said, "Hello, welcome to The Silver Nugget. My name is Jennie and I am going to be your waitress for today. What would you like?"

Archane nodded and said, "I would like the Double Cheeseburger special with a soda."

"Okay, what about you, Miss?"

Kaoru bit her lip. "Do you take gold coins from different kingdoms?"

"Of course! There's different prices at the edge of the menu."
"Ah. I would like the Patty Melt with milk. What about you, Kenshin?"

"Are you an enchanted frog?" Jennie asked.

"Hai."

"We have special menu for enchanted creatures. Here you go." The waitress reached into her pocket and got out a tiny version of the menu.

"Thank you." Kenshin accepted the menu and looked at it. "I would like the fear shake please."

"Wonderful choice." Jennie said as she wrote it down.

Kaoru and Archane looked at their menus and Kaoru asked, "What is this fear shake?"

"Oh, it's a special drink for enchanted creatures. They have eyes of newt, maggots, cockroaches, brains of monkeys, guts of sheep-"

"Enough!" Archane screamed as she and Kaoru turned green. "I get the point."

"Most normal people don't like to eat such things. That's why we don't have it in our normal menus. It's often a requested special traveled by word of mouth. Anyway, I will go ahead and get your drinks." Jennie smiled as she walked off.

"Hello, ladies." Rumpy said as he came in. He was dressed in a sharp business suit with a matching trench coat.

"Rumpy, where were you?" Kaoru asked.

"I was making an appointment with the divorce lawyer I was talking about earlier. He's a real busy guy. But, well, he's interested in high profile divorce cases that involve royalty because they are so rare and so profitable. He's very interested."

Archane sighed as she held her baby. "Good. I want this mess taken care off as soon as possible."

"Good. Divorces are messy cases and only a few are good lawyers. Right now, I need something to eat."
"Here's your food." Jennie said as she came in with two plates and a large cup. She looked at Rumpy and asked, "Oh, I didn't see you there. What would you like?"

"Someone like you."

Jennie blushed as she glared at him. "I don't flirt with my customers. What do you want?"

"Nothing."

The waitress huffed off and the man shook his head. "Not bad. She has potential." Rumpy picked up Kenshin's shake and started to suck at the straw.

"Ummm… that's mine." Kenshin said as Archane and Kaoru turned green again.

"Don't worry, I'm just taking a little. Hmmmm… I can taste the eye of newt."

At once, the women fainted and the little old man shook his head. "They don't have much of a stomach."

After Kaoru and Archane awoke from their unexpected sleep and ate their food. The group went off into the vast city of Sol Sagev. The streets were somewhat calmer but there were still people doing all sorts of stuff.

"Snow globes! You can't leave Sol Sagev without one!"

"Fish! Fresh fish!"

"Finest silks!"

"Enchanted weapons!"

"Bunnies! Get your personal bunnies!"

The group looked to see a man showing off more women wearing bunny ears and tight black suits. Rumpy stepped forward only to be pulled back by Kaoru.

"Oh no you don't, shorty."

"Awww…"

Finally, they reached a tall black building surrounded by fire and brimstone. There was a metal sign that read, "Toryur, Marriag, & Apart Divorce Attorneys at Law."

"Well, at least they're honest." Kenshin said as he looked up from Kaoru's arms.

"Oh god…" Kaoru muttered as she bit her lip.

"It's okay. These guys aren't deadly. They just love to get money." Rumpy said as he waved his hand. "Besides, we're going to talk to Mr. Toryur. He's the softy of the group."

"That's good." Archane said as she held her baby and the group opened the doors. Flames shot out of the walls and a little old lady appeared out of the floor in front of a desk. She looked like a typical old lady except her eyes were amber colored. "Yes, may I help you? Oh, it's you, Mr. Rumpelstiltskin. We have been expecting you." The little old lady pressed a button and a wall moved to reveal a spiral staircase. "Go down the stairs, you know where to go."

"Okay, follow me." Rumpy gestured as they walked down the spiral staircase and passed pictures of frightened people that read underneath 'happy clients'.

They passed rooms filled with torture equipment and strange creatures counting gold coins. There were huge gargoyle statues along the walls with glowing red eyes. Finally, they reached a huge room with a black demon monster with horns looked up and greeted, "Hey, Rumpelstiltskin! How's it going?" He looked at the women and grinned, "Ah… two women this time. You little rascal." Then, the demon peered closer to see Kenshin looking back. "And you brought a gift and he's still alive! Yum!"

"NO!!! DON'T YOU DARE EAT KENSHIN!!!" Kaoru yelled as she turned around and covered Kenshin up.

"He's the lady's friend. He used to be a person but he was cursed by a witch and now he's a frog."

"Ah… I see. Was the witch your wife? I can settle a good divorce settlement from that."

Kenshin shook his head. "No thank you. Rose Red was not my wife but… she had every right to curse me into this form."

"Well… I see. Okay, what happened this time, Rumpy?"

Mr. Toryu nodded as he looked over his notes. "I see. You were forced to spin straw into gold due to some stupid rumor your miller father created. Rumpelstiltskin here did the spinning for you for a necklace and a ring and finally your first born child. After that, the king married you and locked you up in the castle so no one else can get the gold. You escaped from the castle with the help of Rumpelstilskin, Kaoru, and Kenshin and are hiding out here in Sol Sagev."

"Yes, I don't care about gold or anything like that. I just want my son to stay with me so he can lead a nice normal life." Archane said as she nodded.

"Well, this would be an interesting. A first heir is valuable to any kingdom but since the infant is half peasant, the king may not accept him. I will draw up the papers for a divorce and we will meet in court." Mr. Toryu said as he got out a stack of papers. "Archane, you must stay here and sign these papers."

"Of course. How long does it take for a divorce to get through?" Archane asked as she took a pen and started signing.

"Well… it's a good thing that you are being divorced here. Other places normally take years for a divorce to get through. In Sol Sagev, we'll have our court date tonight." Mr. Toryu said as he brought out more papers.

"Tonight?" Kaoru repeated, "That's it?"

"Well, we're kinda swamped since it's divorce season besides night is when Sol Sagev is the most fun."

"I see."

Archane winced as she rubbed her hand. "I'm done. What time is this court date?"

"8:00 at the Courthouse Casino Coliseum. Look sharp since we're going to have an audience. Oh, and get some good insurance."

"Right."

The group walked out and Archane nervously looked down at her dress. It was torn and dirty and she didn't have much of a chance to clean it. "I don't have any other clothes with me. I can't go looking like this."

"Yup, and these Sol Sagev divorce cases are not like your typical divorces. Lucky thing we have the frog assassin here. He needs to be at his best when he fights." Rumpy said as he walked beside them and looked at Kenshin.

"I do not wish to fight or kill anyone." Kenshin said firmly.

"I know… but sometimes you gotta do what cha gotta do." Rumpy shrugged, "We can worry about that later. Right now, let's get some clothes and we will go to the best clothes place in Sol Sagev."

The group walked through the Sol Sagev Mall and stared at the strange clothes. They were far shorter than clothes Kaoru had seen before. Most of the time, she wore long kimonos or formal royal dresses but never anything that was cut above the knee. "Look at all these clothes. I had never seen anything like it in my life."

"Yup, Sol Sagev's fashions are far ahead of their time. That's why I come here often. Their cloth is nothing like it in the world." Rumpy grinned as he held up a mini skirt. "They show way more skin than the average outfit outside of Sol Sagev."

Kaoru ran up and bopped him on the head. "Pervert."

"Hey! There are other types of clothes too!"

"Good. We'll meet you two at the hotel." Kaoru said as she pushed Rumpy away.

"And… can you take care of Richard for me?" Archane asked as she held out her baby.

"Sure thing. Be careful. Sol Sagev is full of strange people." Rumpy said as he accepted the baby. "See ya at the hotel room."

Hours passed as Archane and Kaoru looked through the clothes. They tried on various clothes from leather outfits to school girl outfits to t-shirts and jeans. Finally, Kaoru and Archane came back to the hotel with several shopping bags. "Sorry it took so long." Kaoru said as she saw Rumpy preparing some formula.

"That's okay. I know how to take care of babies. Besides, Kenshin is having fun too." Rumpy pointed to the crib where the baby was tugging and pulling at Kenshin's body.

"Oro!"

"No! No! Bad baby!" Kaoru chided as she ran up and took Kenshin away. She sighed in relief as she held him. "Are you okay, Kenshin?"

"I'm fine. That baby has a strong grip, that he does."

"Good." Kaoru held him close. "I have some great outfits I want to try out."

Kenshin stared up at her surprised. "I thought you didn't like dressing up in fancy clothes."

Kaoru blushed as she realized her statement. She never thought about wearing fancy clothes before traveling with Kenshin. She didn't even mind dressing herself up as a guy so much. Why was she wanted to look better now? "Well… this is important to Archane so I have to look good."

"I see."

Kaoru and Archane went into separate rooms with their bags and after getting dressed they stepped out. Rumy and Kenshin stared at them for a long moment. Archane was dressed in a dark blue business suit complete with white shoes and pantyhose. Her long hair was tied up in a bun and she wore pearl earrings. "These 'pantyhose' and 'bra' is very interesting." Archane commented as she looked at herself.

"Nice look, Archane." Rumpy said as he did a thumbs up.

Kaoru came in dressed in a more relaxed outfit of blue jeans, a tight white shirt, and a red jacket over her shirt. "This is more like me."

"You'll need it too." Rumpy said as he got up. "Now, we have to go and get some weapons for the court date."

"Weapons?" Kaoru repeated, "Who brings weapons to court?"

"Everyone who wants to divorce here." Rumpy sighed as he shrugged. "Look, the reason why divorces go by so fast is that there's a law that decrees that if a divorce cannot be decided in one hour, both sides go into mortal combat. The divorced people chose two fighters each to fight each other in a duel whoever survives get the divorce terms in their favor."

"Oh no. I didn't want that." Archane said as she shook her head. "I just want a simple divorce, go back to my mill and raise my son in peace."

"Sorry, but if we go to another court, the judge would rule in the King's favor since he's rich and have friends in high places. Here, we have a shot."

"He's right, Archane." Kaoru supported, "We know how evil your husband is but everyone thinks that people who live in palaces have it easy. We don't even have real proof of what he did to you. We have to fight. Don't worry, we're good fighters. We can handle them. Right, Kenshin?"

"Right. We can do this. I… am stronger than I look." Kenshin nodded.

"And that is what is going on. Just an hour ago, we got this notice asking for my attendance for the divorce case." King Midanas said as he showed the two figures in the dark a sheet of paper.

"I see." A young woman with a scythe in her hand said as she came up and looked at the paper. "And you said that the exiled princess Kaoru and a giant frog were responsible?"

"Yes. I know that your lord wanted her and her pet frog assassin. That is why I asked you."

The woman smirked. "Good. When we take care of her, everything will be right with Lord Shishio."

To Be Continued…