Author's Note: YAY! I remembered! Haha...here's another chapter as promised. After the 6th is when it's going to get a little bit iffy b/c I only have part of the fouth chapter written--if any!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the idea for this story. I don't own the song 12 Day of Christmas or Kenshin, or any of the characters.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Two turtle doves
December 4, 2005
It had been two days since Kenshin had surprised Karou with the picnic and matching partridge bird. She was getting ready to leave Saito's class when he asked to see her.
"Kamiya. Battousai left this here for you."
"I'm sorry Saito, but doing something nice for either us quite abnormal. Why are you doing this?" Karou said, taking the cream colored envelope from her professor. To her, it felt a little bit heavier than her other notes, not that anyone else would notice it, but she did.
"Call it a benefit of being the Christmas season." Saito said stoned faced.
"Thank you, Saito. Thank you very much." Karou said turning and walking out of the history building. The snow from the other day had turned to slush on the sidewalk, and the sun was out, making the snow sparkle where it covered the grass. She sat down on a bench and held the envelope for a moment. It was a very nice paper, a special parchment that Kenshin had bought for special times he wrote to her. She smiled as she remembered the day he had bought it.
"Kenshin what are you doing? Your never going to use that quality of paper." Karou said, standing next to him in the aisle.
"For special times I write to you." Kenshin said as Karou gave him a blank stare. Kenshin leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "For the love notes I often send to you."
"Should I start expecting some now? I don't remember receiving any before." Karou replied, giving him a small smirk.
"Yes, I think you should." Kenshin said laughing, leaving Karou in the aisle to go pay for the stationary. She had stared after him for a few minutes, then ran to catch up with im.
The first one had come just a few days later. Kenshin's half-scribble writing filling the piece of creamy stationary, a indigo ribbon tied around the envelope. Ever since then, she had received at least one a week, often more than one. They were all tied with the indigo ribbon, in a box, in her closet, whether at home or here at school.
She carefully broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the letter. Holding the folded letter was a small gold pin. It was about the size of a quarter, and two little birds kissing, one had a slightly deeper blue eye than the other one. She gently took the back off the pin to take it out of the paper. She pinned it to her lapel of her jacket, admiring the gold standing out against the black wool. After a few minutes she opened the letter and started reading.
Dear Karou,
Two turtle doves for my true love. Enjoy the pin, specially made for you and I. Did you notice? I had the jeweler change the one jewel to match my eye color, they both had sapphire eyes to begin with. I'll always remember your smiling eyes. I love you with my entire heart, mind and soul. Merry Christmas
You hold my heart,
Kenshin
Karou looked down at the letter for a few more minutes, a small smile gracing her lips. She carefully refolded the letter, placed it in the envelope and slipped it into the pocket of her book bag. As she walked back to her dorm she thought of the gift Kenshin had gotten for the second day of Christmas. When she reached the dorm she shared with Megumi and Misao, she threw her bookbag on the floor next to her desk, grabbed the letter out of her bag and her phone off of her desk, and jumped up onto her bed. Once she was settled, she called Kenshin. "Hey Kenshin, it' Karou. I got your gift. Thank you, I love it. Call me back when you get back from class."
Misao came in a few minutes later with Aoshi, throwing her own stuff by her desk. She looked over at Karou, "Hey, Karou, what's up?"
"I'm on Cloud nine!"
"Really?" Misao questioned, looking at her friend strangely. She walked over to Karou's bed, placing her hand on Karou's forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect." Karou said opening her eyes and smiling up at Misao. It was at this point when Misao saw the letter in Karou's hand.
"What did Kenshin do now?" Misao asked smiling, sitting down on the edge of Karou's bed waiting for the girl to give her the new information.
"On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves." Karou sang, half laughing with a smile on her face.
"What did he do for the second day?" Misao asked, jumping up from the bed. Aoshi at this point entered from the tv room, and sat down on Misao's bed, taking her book off her desk and started to read.
"Check out my coat." Karou said, swinging her legs over the edge, and pulling herself into a sitting position. Misao lifted Karou's black wool coat off of her desk chair, and looking at it. It took her only a moment to notice the addition of a gold pin. Misao pulled it closer for inspection. She noticed the two different colors of eyes on the birds, who were turning their heads behind them for a midair kiss. Misao looked at for a few minutes, then placed the coat back on Karou's chair where she had gotten it. "Karou, that is an adorable pin. It's absolutely gorgeous!" Misao said jumping over to where her friend sat. During this show, Megumi came in, and just stared at her two roommates, who where now jumping up and down on the edge of Karou's bed.
"What in the hell are you two so happy about?" Megumi asked, finally moving from the open area between the two parts of the room to her desk on the opposite side of the room.
"You should see the pin that Himura got Karou for the second day of Christmas. It's absolutely perfect for the two of them."Misao said as she grabbed Karou's coat and showed Megumi the pin that shone on the lapel of her coat.
"That's very nice Karou. Any idea why he's doing this?" Megumi asked, taking the coat to get a closer look.
"No. I have no clue. Probably just how he's giving me his Christmas gifts. He usually does something special when he gives them to me. Hold on, that's him." Karou said, turning her phone on and left the room.
"Hey there." Karou said, a smile filling her face.
"Hey there Lovely." Kenshin said over the phone. "I'm almost to your building. Come out and take a walk with me?"
"Of course. I love you." Karou said.
"I love you too." Kenshin said.
Karou walked into the room and grabbed her coat from her desk where Megumi had placed it. "Kenshin and I are going for a walk. We'll be back later. Remember! We're decorating the tree tonight!"
"Yeah. Are we ordering pizza or going to the cafeteria?" Misao asked.
"Pizza sounds good to me." Megumi said. "Sano will be here in a few minutes, he called me as he left his class."
"Okay! Kenshin and I will be back in a bit!" Karou said waving good bye to her friends.
Karou couldn't wait until they decorated the tree. For the past three years it had been a tradition with the group of friends. They had bought a 6 foot artificial Christmas tree their Sophomore year. Every year since then they had each made a new ornament and added it to their collection. They usually had cookies and hot coco and tea or ordered pizza. They would also finished the decorating of their room and door at that time. They all loved Christmas the best and during the season, it definitely showed. Karou stepped through the door leading to the lobby and saw Kenshin coming through the door.
She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, and placing a kiss on her cheek. After a few moments, he drew back, took her hand and led her outside. "I take it you found my present?"
"Yes I did. Saito gave it to me after class. Why did you leave it with him?"
"Something a little different." Kenshin said. "Do you like it?"
"Oh Kenshin! I love it! It's absolutely perfect!" Karou said, showing him her lapel. "I put it on there right away. I still can't believe it, it's absolutely beautiful!" Karou said, giving Kenshin another hug.
"Are we decorating the tree tonight?" Kenshin asked as they walked down the street leading away from the campus and towards town.
"Yes. We're ordering pizza. I told them we would be home in a bit. Or do I need to call and say it'll be longer or to start without us?" Karou asked as they stopped to let traffic cross in front of them.
"No, this will only take a few minutes." Kenshin said, crossing the street with her.
The street was busy with shoppers and people going home from work. Kenshin led Karou through the crowd of people. After a few minutes, Karou asked, "Where are we going Kenshin?"
"To the Jewelers."
"Why are we going there?" Karou asked, stopping to let a person pass in front of her.
"I have something more for you to pick up. You'll have to open it up later though, is that okay?" Kenshin said, looking down at her. They were just a few stores from the Jewelry store, standing under the eave. Kenshin pulled Karou into his arms, looking down at her face. "I love you." He simply said at her confused look.
"But two presents? That's impossible!"
"No. This isn't even the beginning." Kenshin said, kissing her on her forehead, and started to pull her down the sidewalk once again to the Jewelers.
"Good evening, may I help you?" The older man standing behind the counter asked.
"Hello Hayama-sama. I'm Kenshin Himura, I'm here to pick the other object up I ordered?" Kenshin asked politely.
"Oh, Of course! Is this young lady the recipient of these gifts?" Hayama asked.
"Yes, Karou-dono, this is Hayama-sama. He is the owner of this shop, and was kind enough to change the jewel in the other bird."
"Thank you so much Hayama-sama. It is a beautiful pin. I love it very much. I was overjoyed when I opened it earlier this afternoon." Karou said, lifting her lapel so that he could see the pin there.
"It looks beautiful on you Kamiya-san. Very pretty, I can see the reason why Kenshin here is in love with you, such a beautiful young woman!" The old man said, pulling a wrapped box out from a closed off area under the counter against the wall. "Here you, Himura-san. Thank you very much for coming into my shop."
"Thank you. I couldn't do what I have planned with out you. Well, we must be going, we have some plans with friends this evening." Kenshin said, bowing.
"Your welcome." He said as he watched the young couple leaving, remembering his own college days, and Christmases with his wife.
"We just ordered the pizza, you come at the perfect time! Sano and Aoshi are putting the tree up in front of the window!" Misao said, jumping up and down as Kenshin and Karou came into the room. Karou took Kenshin's coat and put it with her own at her desk, as he went to help the other two guys put the tree up. After a few minutes, their friend Yahiko and his girlfriend Tsubame. They spent the evening putting up their ornaments, remembering other years, other jokes, and making new ornaments.
"Karou, would you come here for a moment?" Kenshin said as they finished their ornaments.
"What is it? Oh! That's so cute! I love it!" Karou said looking at Kenshin's ornament he had just finished.
"You can open this now. It's meant to be put on the tree. Or for decorating." Kenshin said handing her the white and gold wrapped box. It wasn't that big of a box, it was square, and smaller than a tissue box, but just a little bit deeper. She carefully untied the gold ribbon and released the tape that held the white tissue paper at the bottom. She opened the lid to the box, and pulled an object out, as she unwrapped the protective wrapping from it, she noticed what it was. It was two turtle doves once again, white and gold, with a string for hanging from where the two beaks touched.
"Kenshin, it's adorable!" Karou said, putting the birds back into the box and tackling Kenshin in a hug. Misao took the birds out and Megumi and her admired the new, much better made ornament. When Karou got up, they handed her the bird, and she placed it on the tree.
After they had gotten all the new ornaments up, they sat in front of the tree with the lights off, admiring their wonderful piece of Christmas artwork. They sipped tea and coco and sang Christmas Carols until around midnight, when the guys had to leave the building.
The lights twinkled and sparkled from their window as the girls got ready for bed. They fell asleep to the lights on the tree and the snow starting to fall outside.