Author's Note: ....MY NON-UPDATING RECORD!!! Sorry to keep you all in suspense for two weeks (mountains and oceans of homework). One more thing before we proceed on: A huge ocean of thanks goes to Shihali and LadySword04 for helping me with the bold/italics thing! (And um, very detailed! Even I was able to follow the directions! I'm not doing it for this chapter--remember the stupid virus in my computer? Everything had to be cleaned out and my dad forgot to put in Microsoft Word. So I'm typing this on WordPad.) But actually, I asked at the wrong time--FF.net just put in a QuickEdit so you can do bold/italics. Thanks anyway!
REMINDER TO ALL: This fic is a rewriting of the Kyoto Arc/Tales of the Meiji (a subset in three of the Rurouni Kenshin series). So some events will be skewered, but they'll be there! And different things will happen in the plot, as it is the plot that's different.
Review Responses: (they're gonna be short!)
Brittanie Love and Dragon Master271: Excellent! Thank you guys!
Shihali: You're giving me tons of great ideas...Expect events and ideas you recognize later on!
LadySword04: Thank you! I'll definitely stick out more chapters after what you told me.
Arteme: Another review of yours that makes me blush...! I know, Jin-e already set a perfectly good example for the other villains but they're STILL not getting the picture!
rurouni madness: Muahahahahha!! This fic should also be stuck underneath 'Suspense' but there's also Romance and Drama and so many other topics...
PrincessSakura4: Oh wow, thanks! Haha, I jumped around and screamed after I read your review... I must keep my sanity to continue this story!
Whisper of Darkness: Exactly what I'm aiming for.
assassinatorgirl: You say my fic's good, heck, just look at yours! I should put you on Author Alert--I can't wait for your next update!
misenagi: I'll try!
Disclaimer: (too lazy) Just look at the first chapter's disclaimer! Sheesh, I'm not creative like other people are...!
A Cloak of Protection
Chapter 8: Hindering Obstacles DAY TWO--7:15 am
Yet another long, dark strand of silky hair fell into her face. Kaoru sighed again and shoved it out of the way of her working area, but it tumbled back down again. Pressing her full, red lips together in annoyance, she tossed aside the ornately carved table leg and silky magenta obi onto the couch next to her. Now she could use her free hands to gather up the silky mass of raven-blue hair and stuff it down the back of her cerulean-blue kimono.
This technique seemed to work quite well. Turning her head back and forth, up and down, Kaoru tried to see if any dark silky strands of hair fell out yet again. The bushy mass stayed folded up against each other in the back of her kimono, and a relieved smile touched Kaoru's lips.
Turning her head back down to scrutinize the table leg, she reached out with her pale right hand to gently scoop up the magenta obi. In her left hand, she picked up the polished table leg and shifted her hand down the length of it so to tie the obi around the opposite end as a grip.
Kaoru fumbled about with the long piece of silky magenta cloth in her right hand, folding it over once on itself and snapping it out, ridding away the wrinkles. Laying down the polished redwood table leg across on her knees, she snapped out the obi in her hand again and quickly wrapped it around the straightest end of the redwood table leg. With a flourish, she wound the obi around and around the dark, oily wood, rotating the redwood stick to straighten the magenta wrappings. Finally, after much of the obi's length was used to wrap the straight end of the redwood table leg, Kaoru used the remaining length to tie a quick knot and tuck it into the tight folds of the wrappings.
A smile appeared on Kaoru's heart-shaped face as she scrutinized her hasty work, and the heavily contrasting colors almost blinded her sapphire-blue eyes. The deep magenta color of the silky obi clashed with the smooth red- brown of the table leg.
Time to test out her 'masterpiece'.
Kaoru stood up, the blue wrinkled folds of her loose kimono straightening out. She straightened the 'bokken' in her hands so that she was grasping the magenta obi-wrapped end tightly, and stepped forward with her right foot. Bringing her arms up high in the air, she slashed straight downwards with the bokken.
Her late father's voice echoed through her mind, ringing clear as silver bells.
"Don't slow down your slashing speed when you hit your target. Imagine hitting straight through your target, not on it. This will increase your skill greatly, magnifying it several times more than when you slow down."
She scrunched up her eyes, dark lashes accentuated against her pale skin, and with a loud "HAH!" she swung the wooden leg downwards, with a force to rival a tremendous tornado's.
Her whole body had thrust forward with the wooden 'sword'. The far tip of the wooden 'bokken' almost touched the ground, and her arms extended straight out, grasping the obi-wrapped end of the table leg.
The wooden, oil-slick stick didn't interfere with her swing anymore.
Kaoru smiled, tossing her sheet of shiny hair behind her shoulders, as it had cascaded out of the back of her kimono as she had practiced with her new weapon. Setting down the reconstructed wooden table leg onto the yellow couch, she brought her oil-slick hands up to her face to examine them. They were shiny and tinged a copper red from the oil used to shine the side table's legs. Frowning in distaste, Kaoru swiped her hands onto her already-dirty blue kimono. However, when she brought her hands back up, the oily shine still glistened on her fingers and palms.
What an absolute mess I must look, Kaoru thought, a wry smile touching the edges of her sakura-blossom lips. Her blue kimono hung straight down without her obi to serve as a type of fashion accessory. Much worse than that, there were so many dirty streaks on her kimono, all over the soft blue cloth. This was mostly crimson bloodstains, streaks of fine grainy dirt from the earth of the woods, and now the oily red-tinged smears of rosewood oil from the heavily-polished table leg.
The shiny 'bokken' casually lay on the right side of the yellow couch. Kaoru licked her dry bottom lip and glanced at it, narrowing her eyes. The ornate, Oriental-style carving and sharp angles of the table leg was a factor in how effective the 'bokken' would be, as Kaoru had to wield it properly and steadily in order to have the highest level of self-defense possible.
She pressed her blossom-like lips together in serious thought, gazing at the length of redwood with a wrapping of magenta cloth around one end. She needed to straighten out the sharp angles to get a firmer grasp...even the obi wasn't enough...
And then a vital piece of information popped into her head. It was like someone had just stuck it there. Ask a question, receive an answer.
Some swordsmen sharpened their blunt swords by using a sharpener. They angled the blade in a certain way, so the rectangular rock-like sharpener could whittle away at the metal and thus the blade would be sharpened.
And in prehistoric times, (AN: Don't know if Japanese people know about these times...--;;;) the ancestors of modern humans today sharpened THEIR weapons by striking them against a hard surface.
It was worth a shot. Except Kaoru wouldn't be sharpening the ornately carved table leg; she would be blunting it, making it straighter, smoothing out the sharp angles.
Kaoru didn't know if this would work or not. But even if she couldn't smooth out the sharp angles, she could at least get the greasy, shining oil off the length of wood.
A hard surface...
Kaoru twisted around and glanced around the moderately-sized room. A hard surface...
Of course, it was so obvious. She could use the walls--or the hardwood ground beyond the green rug--or even the remains of the 'side table'...
It didn't matter. As long as she got to work now.
Kaoru leaned over, midnight-blue hair cascading in a dark waterfall over her shoulders, and scooped up the redwood table leg in her hands. She made for the fallen side table first.
Stepping her way gingerly through the pile of unlit matches and candles, sidestepping the upright, lone lit candle in its tiny gleaming dish, she reached the side table. She stooped down, flowing blue kimono parting slightly, and gently balanced the stick of wood onto her right knee, so to free her hands to lift up the slightly waist-high side table.
Kaoru lay the two-legged table onto her other knee, the circular surface pointing to her and the two legs jutting out away from her. With her pale right hand, she lifted up the single redwood table leg and grasped the end with the obi wrappings tightly. With her left hand, she held down the side table. Now she was in a good position to start sanding away.
Kaoru got to work, the only sounds in the room the grinding sound of wood against wood, her soft breathing, and the steady ticking of Soujirou's pocket watch that was lying near the double front doors.
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8:00am
Kenshin had sat there on the cold wooden dojo steps for who knows how long.
His usually clear amethyst eyes were clouded over, as he stared dully at the two ripped pieces of the crumpled note lying on the bottom step, next to his sandaled feet.
His mind swirled in dark, thick clouds. No thought could strike through the dull haze in his mind.
His white, straight teeth clenched, opaque violet eyes staring, he clenched his two hands into tight fists.
The sound of windchimes sang through the beautiful spring morning. But the red-haired samurai couldn't enjoy them. Not today. Probably not ever-- until he could...
What?
What could he do?
He drew his right foot back a little on the step, the sandal sliding across the wood in a dry sound. He could do what the note told him to do...
Yes, that's what he would do.
His horrible, vivid dream from earlier this morning flashed back into his cloudy mind.
Yes, of course he would follow the note's instructions. Anything to save...Kaoru-dono.
His cloudy violet eyes flashed a cool, burning liquid gold color for a moment. Shishio. How dare he...
"Kenshin! I thought you said you were going to do breakfast?!" a masculine voice roared across the dojo.
Kenshin stayed where he was, perched on the wooden front steps of the Kamiya dojo. He pressed his lips against one another and stared straight ahead at the dojo gates.
Then he felt--and heard-- thudding footsteps vibrating through the floor. Sanosuke.
The gangly, late-teens man stopped beside Kenshin, looking him up and down. "Kenshin, have you been sitting here for the last two hours?" the chocolate-haired man bewilderingly questioned him.
Kenshin slowly blinked his bleary eyes, and they focused. Tilting his head up to look the taller man in the eye, he remained silent.
Sano stuffed his large, long-fingered hands into his wide pockets and glanced around the place where Kenshin was perched like a stone statue. Then his warm brown eyes settled on the ripped halves of the creased note. "Kenshin....what the hell?"
From here, Sano could make out bold, spiky markings on the two ripped pieces of paper.
Abandoning the still Kenshin, Sano leaped down the steps and hastily scooped up the two pieces of paper. From what he could see, they fit perfectly together. Two puzzle pieces that made up a single jigsaw puzzle.
His large hands trembled as he fit the pieces together.
"What the FUCK?!" Sano yelled, crumpling up the two halves of the already- wrinkled note in his hands. "Jo-chan--Jo-chan...god, Kenshin, no wonder you're like that!"
Kenshin's face was tightly clenched as he tried to hold back his overwhelming emotions.
Sano looked up at him, sitting on the top step, and looked down at the crumpled ball of paper he held in his trembling hands. Angrily, he flung down the ball at his feet.
"So Jo-chan's been kidnapped by Shishio--that bastard," Sano said haltingly. "Then we have to--then we have to--"
Kenshin glanced up hastily, violet eyes narrowed into two slits. "Sanosuke, no. It's only me that's going, understand that? You'll be staying here."
Sano flinched at his red-headed friend's icy tone. But then he clenched his fists tightly, so that his knuckles showed white all around. "Shit, Kenshin, stop trying to take responsibility for everything! You're always doing that!"
Kenshin's violet eyes focused on Sano, widening.
Sano continued relentlessly.
"Look, this is Shishio you're talking about. Shishio! The hitokiri! He couldn't be killed, both by a gunshot in the head and being burned at tremendous temperatures! What does that say to you? You're going to need help fighting him! And I'm coming with you! You understand, Kenshin?"
Sano drew in a deep breath and brought the back of his right hand up to wipe away some spittle on his lower lip. He just had to get across to Kenshin that if he wanted to get Jo-chan back, he would need backup.
Sanosuke was just opening his mouth again, but slowly, Kenshin drew his bushy-red head up to gaze up at him. A wry smile tugged up the corner of a lip. "I suppose...you're right, Sanosuke."
Sano drew back, a little surprised at Kenshin's quick response. But then he smiled back at Kenshin, red ribbon flapping behind his spiky head. "I'm glad you understand that."
Suddenly there was a slight rustling sound, coming near the dojo walls. Sano snapped up his spiky brown head quickly, red Sekihoutai ribbon flapping. Kenshin quickly twisted around.
Sano drew in a deep breath. "Who's there?" he bellowed, eyes narrowing.
Slowly, trembling, Yahiko emerged from behind a open doorway. His yellow gi flapped as he stepped out of the darkness of the doorway and walked over to the stiff Kenshin, biting his lip.
Sano visibly relaxed.
Yahiko lowered his eyes, spiky dark head wavering. "I--I heard what you-- said," he haltingly murmured, absently scuffing the wooden floor with his right toe. "And--" he abruptly jerked his head up to glare Kenshin and Sano in the eye--"I want to come along!"
Sano's face was solemn. "Yahiko--" he began.
"And don't you dare call me little!" Yahiko angrily yelled. "I can help you guys! Don't think I can't! I know you need me! And I want to help to get Kaoru back as much as you guys want to!" His chest heaved with indignation.
Kenshin smiled tenderly at the outraged boy. "I'm sure you can come with us, if you really want to save Kaoru-dono," he told Yahiko. "We'll really appreciate the extra help."
Kenshin stood up and walked over to the spiky-haired boy.
Yahiko quickly glanced up at Kenshin, fury evaporating. "Th-that's good, because--because--"
With a small, emotion-wracked cry, Yahiko flung himself at Kenshin. Surprised, the red-haired samurai managed to steady himself by stepping back with his left foot. Yahiko clutched Kenshin hard, squeezing his brown eyes shut, tears of frustration seeping out of his shut eyes. "I just can't believe that--Kaoru--"
Kenshin gently smiled down at Yahiko, who now seemed very little and innocent. "I know, Yahiko...I know."
Sano felt his lips curve up in a smile as he watched the two.
Then came a slight predator's sneaking footstep behind them, at the dojo gates.
Quick as a flash, Sano swiveled around, chocolate brown eyes widening. His flapping white shirt with the boldly imprinted character on the back undulated wildly as Sano swung around to face the dojo gates.
"Sorry to interrupt the little--ah--moment, but I'd like to have a little chat with the Battousai," came a silky, cool masculine voice.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Sorry to keep you all hanging there for two weeks, but it's the time of the horrendous end-of-year tests... THE STRESS! THE STRESS!! So maybe I'll update once a week now... One little thing: I'm so happy to hear that you guys love this story! You have no idea how happy that makes me feel. So I'm updating longer chapters because of you all... Wait for the next chapter NEXT WEEK! (By the way, it must be hard writing reviews, if you already reviewed for all the past chapters! It's kind of like, What should I write here now? So I would appreciate it if, you don't have anything more to say, you could comment on some mistakes I'm making now and other aspects to help me improve...thanks!)
-Twilight Sky