II
Kaoru thumped her foot rhythmically against the soft dirt of the dojo's front yard. She wore a sour look on her face and seemed in a near trance. This had become increasingly common ever since Kenshin had started going with Sano to the Blue Leaf House, and no one dared to interrupt her when she was in her mood. No one, except perhaps, a foolish young student of hers.
"Hey Kaoru, what's up?" The enraged women did not respond to the 19-year-old boy's question. "Hey Kaoru, I said what's up?" Again she said nothing. Yahiko Myojin sat down next to her and stared up into her face. "What the hell's the matter with you?" She did respond that time, nor did the conversation did not last much longer after that, Both Kenshin and Sano feared that there was more of the same abuse in store for them when they returned. The furious women arose and greeted the pair as they walked in. Weakly, Kenshin spoke to his wife.
"Oh, hello…Kaoru." Strangely, her appearance turned cheerful as she came closer to him and embraced him.
"I know where you were, my dear." she whispered in his ear.
"You do?"
"Indeed, I do. But don't worry, I trust you. I know you would never do anything to betray me." she said as she tugged him closer. Relieved, Kenshin said,
"Thank you, my dear." He smiled, naively. Suddenly, he felt a hand fumbling with his things. "Dear, are you trying to be…playful?" he asked in a befuddled manner.
"No at all." replied Kaoru calmly. Kenshin's eyes began to open wider as he felt her squeezing harder, and harder. He bit lip and cringed, the pressure slowly increasing. Words came to his mouth, but they remained bottled up, until finally, he muttered three words.
"Please, leave one."
"I just want the women there know they already belong to me." She released and Kenshin crumpled to the ground.
"Yes, dear." he said in a high tone.
"Bad luck, old boy." said Sanosuke mockingly.
"Don't think for a second you get off so easily." Sano looked up and turned his head a few degrees to see where Kaoru was. Strangely, he couldn't find her anywhere. She found him, however, when a piece of fire wood came hurtling at his head from an unknown location. Slowly, Sano dropped to the ground with his comrade.
As the night came about, Dr. Gensai found himself treating two concussions and a case of squashed genitals. The most latter ailment he could nothing about, but the concussions were treated in an appropriate manner. "So what did you do down there?" demanded Kaoru as the residents of the house sat eating dinner. Kenshin finished chewing his bite and opened his mouth before being interrupted by his rooster-headed friend.
"Believe it or not, we were watching a ship."
"Of course." said Yahiko facetiously.
"No, we were actually watching a ship." Kenshin took an opportunity to interject.
"It's true. We were watching a new ship from the America's come in." Again, Kaoru's expression changed to a sunny one, and all aggression towards her husband dissipated. New ships meant new imports, and she highly prized materials from the North American continent.
"Was there really a ship from the Americas?" she asked.
"Yes, the CSS Old Dominion."
"CSS? That means it's from the Confederate States. We haven't had one of those in Edo have we?" interjected Dr. Gensai.
"Nope, the Confederate States is still a fairly young nation." said Kenshin. "They only gained their independence about twenty years ago."
"Can we go by and see what they've brought tomorrow?" asked Kaoru, trying not to sound anxious. She had read many dime-novels that told of romantic tales involving southern maidens in their fantastic dresses being swept away by their southern prince charming. She also fantasized about Kenshin as her own prince-charming, coming to sweep her away.
"We'll see."
XXXXXXXX
Colonel Jefferson Davis Ramsey sat conferring with the two other army officers he had brought with him to Japan, Major's Clarence Jackson and Robert Potter. Ramsey usually had liquor on the table when discussing business, but during this particular meeting, it was absent, a sign that Colonel Ramsey was anxious about something. "Boys, as I'm sure you're already aware of, President Longstreet is preparing for the purchase of Sonora and Chihuahua next week from Mexico. I'm sure you're also aware of that President James G. Blaine and the damnyankees are none too happy about this. Blaine has threatened war if the purchase goes through. If he makes good on that threat, we might find ourselves in a delicate situation. There are yankee steamers in the harbor."
"Sir," said Major Jackson. "You said steam-ers. Are we to assume there's more than one?"
"Indeed," replied Jefferson in his near-yankee accent, one which he had acquired from four years at West Point. "Moored about a mile down are two frigates, the Minnesota and the Fitzpatrick."
"So what's the plan? If there's a war back home, the damnyankees probably won't waste anytime ganging up on us." said Major Potter.
"Yes, Bob. That was the point I was trying to make. Luckily, the boys back in Richmond had good foresight. There's a pair of British ships in the harbor as well. If the damnyankees try to make a move on us, we can fall back on the help of the H.M.S Surprise and H.M.S Ellingson." Slight smiles were cracked by Ramsey's subordinates, but he knew how to make them wider. Reaching behind his chair, he opened his trunk and fumbled around until he produced a bottle of amber liquid. Whiskey, and not just any whiskey, good Kentucky bourbon. Ramsey pulled the cork out with his teeth and took a swig that sent fire down his throat and into his stomach. He wiped his mouth and then raised the bottle. "To the limeys." he said before passing it around. Before each man drank, he raised the bottle and repeated.
"To the limeys."