Disclaimer: I DO own Rurouni Kenshin! I have Volume 1 in my closet! XD

Days: Umbrella

Their days rolled by like the clouds, Ami realized. A slow, unhurried pace, peacefully rolling by. But at the same time, it was too fast. You watch the cloud drift lazily by, and you close your eyes in contentment. But when you wake up, the cloud is gone, and a new one has already replaced its spot.

She could have compared life with Kenshin to be like a dream, except for the times when it was painfully real. The times when she felt so self-conscious and turned her mind over and over in worry of which answer would be best for Kenshin's inquiries. The times she liked best were when they said few, or nothing at all, and she was free to admire him. She had the most time to do this when they walked.

She loved the way the morning sunlight lit his hair so that various hues of red and orange battled with each other in every movement he made. She smiled as she noticed how his hair bobbed ever so slightly with each step he took. She liked to watch how his body moved under his clothing, marveling quietly at each surefooted step he made. He was like a favorite painting of hers. You can scan the painting carefully and notice a detail you had overlooked before. They were small things, but precious to her. Sometimes Ami noticed a small tear in his clothing, here and there, or a place that has been patched up. Or that yesterday there were five stray hairs from his topknot, and today there are twelve.

Sometimes she caught herself and felt guilty for looking at him so intently. It felt like spying (Hiro, she thought excitedly). But she couldn't help herself. How could she not appreciate him? Still, sometimes she made herself look away and pay attention to other things, like the trees, plants, and birds. But her gaze always landed back on him sooner or later.  

~*~

The presence of spring was evident, as the days grew warmer and sunnier. The agreeable weather helped Ami unconsciously become more daring around Kenshin, and when she was in an especially enthusiastic mood she would let herself run around with abandon, doing what she felt like. She would do things like walk in a straight line, one foot in front of the other, or simply twirl around, stopping before she became too dizzy. That would be going too far, she thought. The thought of stumbling around stupidly in dizziness in front of Kenshin was repulsive to her. She would seem childish.

~*~

There was one immense change to Kenshin's habits as a wanderer, now that he had the company of another. It was the effect it was having on his mind.

I walk the maze of moments

But everywhere I turn to

Begins a new beginning

But never finds a finish

When he was alone, his thoughts always turned on themselves and battled with each other. He was continuously seeking answers that he could not find on his own. But with Ami with him, his thoughts were straying towards her more than to himself.

I walk to the horizon

And there I find another

It all seems so surprising

And then I find that I know

Maybe this is the way, Kenshin wondered. Even before he started to officially travel, he had resolved to try and not get too involved with the ones he helped. They would be in danger, being connected to him. Like Tomoe… it was because of him that she met her end. But no one had recognized him in a long time. His fear for Ami's safety because of his identity was slowly dying, though he was still wary.

I took the turn and turned to

Begin a new beginning

Still looking for the answer

I cannot find the finish

Ami was happier with him, he knew. That was the truth. But whether it was better this way, he still did not know. He had yet to become involved with trouble with Ami at his side. For Ami to be put in danger or harmed because of him… Kenshin sighed heavily. If such ever happened, he would have to sacrifice her happiness for her safety. That was the priority.

~*~

Is it me, or are we going slower? Ami mused. She grinned a little, feeling amused at Kenshin. Was he doing it unconsciously, or was it because of her? At the thought, her smile lessened, but quickly came back as she fought off the bad mood. It was a beautiful day, and she didn't want to spoil it for herself.

Spreading her arms to help keep balance, she lifted each leg high as she walked, giving Kenshin the strange impression of a walking heron. An awkward one, at that. She caught him looking at her and blushed the faintest of pinks, smiling shyly, then adverting her gaze to escape his questioning smile.

Somehow she managed to pass him with her strange walk, and Kenshin was content to watch her go. She started to hum to herself, probably thinking that he could not hear. It was more of a soft crooning tune than a song. Kenshin smiled, finding himself beginning to hum also, but softly as to not disrupt her melody.

A small breeze came up and brushed against his face refreshingly, carrying Ami's voice. He smiled as she began to sing words, and smiled wider when he heard what they were.

"Big sun, little sun, poking out of small clouds, little sun, big sun, beating up the small clouds," she said absentmindedly, nodding head from side to side. "Big rain, small rain, barely covering brown ground, small rain, big rain, making puddles on my head-" she paused, fully realizing what she was saying and laughed out loud.

Another gust blew up and Ami grinned and chanted under her breath, "Big wind, small wind, barely making hair fly, small wind, big wind, whipping strands all around!" She paused, waiting for another inspiration. A bird sang from somewhere in the trees and Ami opened her mouth to speak but another voice beat her to it.

"Little bird, large bird…"

Ami froze, shocked. Mouth agape, she spun around to stare at Kenshin, who smiled at her sheepishly. "What should go with that, I wonder?"

She turned red, but at the same time felt a deep excitement that Kenshin had joined her. She had never heard him sing before…. It made her feel extremely giddy, somehow.

"Um… little bird, large bird, making rabbits run and hide," she said, thinking of hawks and falcons. She paused, letting Kenshin have the chance to make up the next verse, eyeing him hopefully, eager to hear him sing.

"Large bird, little bird, letting travelers hear their song," he said softly. Ami's heart beat painfully hard at his voice. She stayed at her spot, letting Kenshin catch up to her, then shot him an adoring smile.

"Best verse," she said in a neutral tone, letting it be either a question or a statement. Kenshin laughed.

"Is that so? I rather liked the 'puddles on your head'."

She blushed and looked to the ground, twisting. Suddenly, she recalled another moment. The time they were sitting together under one of the trees in the Kamashi garden. She blew out air from between her lips and said, "You're tricky."

Does he remember? Does he remember the time he said that to me?

She held her breath, barely concealing her nervous excitement. Kenshin blinked, but then the time seemed to come back to him and he smiled, patting her on the head.

"Not really," he said.

Ami's heart rose, indescribably pleased that he would remember such a small moment… well, not small to her. "Not really," she repeated dutifully and she grinned, turning away to hide it. She felt Kenshin's eyes on her for a while longer, and then the hand was removed and he started forward.

"Let's go."

Ami nodded, and as she jogged a bit to catch up with him, she vowed to remember that verse forever.

~*~

It was raining, again.

"I had thought," Ami said quietly, with a wistful tone, "that the weather would stay bright."

She clutched her sack and carved items closer to her as she waited for Kenshin's reply.

"It's all right. Sometimes it is unpredictable like that."

A short answer. Ami sighed and clutched the still closed umbrella closer. She had made another one a few days ago only because the wood's shape was good for the item. She hadn't expected that it would be needed to be put into use so soon…

Kenshin's using his…

Ami bent her head down to her chest with a fond smile, watching the road gather puddles. She avoided them carefully, recalling another time. I won't step in one this time…

She opened hers and the two made their way down the road.

~*~

Before Ami knew it, they were walking into a small village filled with small brown shacks. The dark brown color of the small homes and the gray of the sky made the setting seem a little gloomy.

But, Ami thought, these houses remind me of my old home. The poor quarters were built in almost the exact same way as the hut she had lived in with her brother. Ami wondered if Hiro was better off wherever he was now… He is NOT dead!

They wandered through the main road, which went through what obviously was the town marketplace, though right now it was empty and the stalls packed away. Ami had the feeling that the village was very private. Even in wet weather, usually there was someone outside at the marketplace.

"Do you want to rest?" Kenshin asked. He gestured to some benches under the roof of a public building. "That's the only thing this village could provide us. It looks too poverty stricken to offer food or shelter."

Indeed, what looked like what could have once been a restaurant was closed and rundown. Ami closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's all right. I don't want to intrude. Besides, I think any resources here need to be saved for the townspeople, not some strangers." She smiled good-naturedly.

"That's true," Kenshin sighed, running a hand through his hair. They continued easily through the streets. Ami's eyes began to subconsciously focus on him as usual, and a little while later, it occurred to her that his posture had changed. He seemed slightly…stiffer. Was something the matter? She averted her gaze to in front of him and gave a little "oh!" in surprise. 

Up ahead, propped up against one of the public buildings, was a man. His simple clothes suggested he wasn't homeless since they were not rags, and he seemed to be staring into space.

Drunk? Ami wondered. As they drew closer, she was able to see his face more clearly. His expression was completely wretched, and he looked older than his years, which may have been a couple above Kenshin's age. Ami frowned in pity. The rain was dripping onto his head, but he didn't seem to care…

Ami shifted her umbrella to the side and looked up into the gray sky. She blinked, a reaction to the raindrops falling on her face. I don't mind the rain… not really… so…

They were almost there, but man didn't give any sign that he noticed them. And then they were right in front of him! Her footsteps almost betrayed her and took her past him, but she forced herself to pause.

"Do you want it?" She was almost whispering, as if not wanting to alert Kenshin. He was still going. However, he was already turning around having noticed her stop. His umbrella lowered and the rain ran down his hair as he watched them silently.

The man stared into space behind her. Ami tensed in slight nervousness. She extended her hand further, umbrella tilted towards him. The man's eyes flickered and darted to her face, then to the umbrella.

"What?" His voice was slow and sounded raspy, as if he had worn it out earlier.

"Do you want it? You're getting wet."

His hand shot up suddenly and knocked the umbrella away from him. Ami heard the clinking sound of Kenshin's sword as he shifted. She wanted to glance at him but didn't dare, keeping her eyes on the man's face. His gaze was lifeless except for the tiniest glimmer of defiance.

Ami studied him for a while longer, kneeling down. She fought off a smile, knowing it would probably make the man even more reluctant. I understand you, I think. Slowly, with both hands, she placed the umbrella in front of him, head bowed slightly in offering.

Her head was kept bowed until she fully stood. Then she turned to Kenshin and began to walk. He had a neutral expression, but Ami noticed how close his hand was to his sword. It's all right, come on, she thought silently as she walked past him, and Kenshin followed her lead. As they walked further away from the man, Ami tried to fall back to her usual place behind Kenshin, but his hand against her back stopped her from retreating further.

Her lips parted in surprise from the contact and her head whirled up to look at his face. He smiled.

"You've lost your umbrella."

"Mm," Ami said, eyes wandering to the ground from nervousness. She forced herself to look up again. "It's all right."

His head jerked up to nod against his own umbrella. The one I gave him that time… Ami noted with hot pride. "Why don't you come under here with me," Kenshin said, still smiling. His arm came up to hook around her shoulders, drawing her nearer. Her eyes widened with the forwardness and she blushed, at the same time relishing the comforting feeling of being so close to him.

"Dry?"

"Mm-hm." She nodded. She could no longer feel the raindrops hitting her head. Biting her lip, she carefully pressed closer against him. If he noticed the movement, Kenshin gave no sign. Exhaling softly, Ami smiled and peeked back to look at the man.

He was reaching for the umbrella.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

I was dead for a while, and then returned from the grave. That's my excuse!

What, don't believe me? *cough*

Well, sorry I took so long! I really hope I get the next chapter done quicker; at least I have a plot laid out for it! (Sort of. And I sort of had a lay out for this one too, but didn't help much, did it?)

And this was the first time I used lyrics, too. It was from "Anywhere Is" by Enya. I thought they sort of fit…I just put it in mostly for experimenting, though. *shrug*

My Dad accidentally rented Seisouhen for me too early… I spent a lot of time freaking out about whether to watch it or not. I was too afraid of seeing dear Kenshin pass away so I only watched Part 1 then sent it back. ^_^;;  btw, the English dub was terrible. I nearly died. Well, not really. But you get the picture.

Oh yes! In my stupid little xanga blooby site, which the link is posted at my bio, I loaded a computer drawn picture of Ami in case anyone wants to see. Not that good, mind you, but at least you get an idea of what she looks like. Or, you could ignore it and stick with your own inner image of Ami, whatever you like. ^_^  Also on the site are tons of T/K doujinshi scans, in case your interested. It took a long time going around Ebay searching for T/K doujinshi and saving the sample scans to my com. It was also very bad for my health, because I kept steaming and wailing over how I couldn't bid for them.

Anyway, enough of all that. Review Replies!:

Empress Nahte: Yeah, of course you were joking! ^_^ *weird look* Right? Lol, Thanks a lot for checking this out June… I know for me, reading through 12 straight chapters is pretty tedious. Thankies. ^_^

AnimeAmba: M…Mini Aoshis? XD Oh, I just imagined that right now and it's quite a sight. Somehow more appealing than Mini Kenshins…DID I JUST SAY THAT?! Ack! *runs to imaginary Kenshin shrine and prays for forgiveness* o_o;;

Lady E1: Thanks so much for your compliments!! I'm glad you noticed the "Souka" thing, because I sort of wanted people to notice that's sort of one of Ami's trademarks. Like how you hear an "Oro!" and know Kenshin is behind it. What Ami feels for Kenshin… yeah, you could say admiration. Adoration. *prods* Well, she looks up to him a lot.

Maeve Riannon: As proven from long update time, Muse is unhealthy! *pokes it* Yeah, not having a scanner is reaaally annoying. But maybe it's good. If I had a scanner, I'd be scanning everything. 0_0 Thanks for your comments, I enjoyed reading them. J

EEevee: Thanks. Heh, I remember one time when I was little I was running through a field…and fell into a mud hole. O_o And that was right after school, so people saw me. It was pretty embarrassing. Well, hope you like the movies if you got to see them!

Miss Behavin: Thanks!! And about things not turning out the way you thought they would… that's another hard thing for plots not planned. There are so many things I could do with this fic! (Like bring Hiro back or something, though I'm already pretty sure that won't happen…) But thankfully I've gotten a path planned out…hope I can stick to it.

Meiharu: I hope you like this chapter too!! That was a cute cat face by the way. ^_^