"Kaoru"
(Edo/Tokyo, 1868)
A small girl sat next to an unfolded futon, on which a woman was lying. "Mama, you'll be okay, I know you will!" the young girl said assuredly, in the optimistic way only a child can be.
The woman coughed. "I hope so, Kaoru-chan. I want to live long enough to see you grow. I'm sure, though, that you'll become a fine lady."
Kaoru thought over this momentarily, then said, "I want to be like Daddy when I grow up, and I wanna learn Kamiya 'shin-ryuu. Then I'll be a good person, right, Mama? 'Cuz Daddy's a good person."
"Kaoru-chan…" The prim, reserved woman frowned. "Yes, your father's a great person, but I don't know--"
"Momma, I'm gonna do it! I don't care if it's 'not proper for a lady' or whatever! But I also want to make you and Tousan proud, 'kay?"
"Kaoru…" she smiled. "I'll always be proud of you, no matter what."
薫
(Tokyo, 1878)
Kamiya Kaoru, shihondai of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryuu, was currently glaring daggers at the strange "rurouni" who she had stopped on the road because she was suspicious about his sword, and who was now physically carrying her back to her family's dojo. 'Who does he think he is!'
Invisible to her, an ephemeral figure watched the scene, lightly chuckling. 'That's my Kaoru-chan…'
薫
End "Kaoru"
MS's notes
Unlike the others, I can't really think of anything that this one was influenced by other than the actual manga. It also somewhat parallels the first two. Next drabble: "Rurouni", assuming I can actually manage to write it. I'm currently a bit stuck.