Disclaimer: Just using the characters for my mere entertainment. And hopefully yours.
Over the Sky
Chapter Six
The sky, Soujiro concluded, was a marvelous thing.
The sun smiled warmly, wrapping them in long arms of light. Once awhile, it gave them long cool kisses of wind and occasionally embraced them in comfortable shades that came in forms of thick, soft clouds. He felt all of this—along with the undoubted horde of imaginative daggers currently being shot at his back.
Ah. Sano was watching. Again.
He could feel them—those dark eyes of his, inspecting carefully and observing critically at everything and anything that played in his line of vision. Smugly, just to tick his inspector off, Soujiro brushed his hand lightly against a clueless Kaoru's.
Sano growled somewhere off in the distance. He smirked silently.
Soujiro didn't blame him or his over protectiveness of her. He fully understood the man's suspicion, knowing that there could only be, at the most, a reserved friendship between the two ex-fighters, even when they had their share of common interests (keeping Kaoru smiling being just one of them).
However, Sano's constant scrutinizing did not stop him from studying her.
In the few weeks he had stayed with Kaoru—from the moment she had invited him to live at her dojo—he was simply awestruck at the life she lived. And his fascination continued to grow as they spent their little moments together.
Washing the dishes, cleaning the floor, or hanging the laundry as he and she were doing right then—they were simple chores that made him feel, unlike Yahiko when he was ordered to do his assigned tasks, content. He had been missing out on a life like this, never having the chance of it as a child or as he grew up.
But now he did.
"You look happy."
Soujiro looked up from folding a white sheet, looking at Kaoru who was mirroring his actions. They stood in between two walls of clothes that relentlessly danced in the breeze. A bucket of soap water, overflowing with bubbles, sat alone a few meters to their left.
"I am."
She raised a curious brow, setting down her folded sheet to pick a new wet one to hang in its place, "By doing the laundry?"
He chuckled at the surprise in her tone. "Yes."
She, in return, shook her head in disbelief before whipping the wet sheet in the air. Clear, crystal-like water droplets flew in many directions, glinting like stars left after a retreating night. A solo flyer crashed against her cheek and he looked at it intently as it rolled ever so slowly down her skin.
"Soujiro."
He shifted his attention to her eyes and they were just as mesmerizing. But she turned away to hang her sheet and he made sure to hide his frown that formed from the loss of the connection.
"Tell me. Why did you come here?"
"To help you do the laund—"
Kaoru faced him completely now, and he was almost completely taken aback from the serious expression on her face. She ignored the laundry that needed to be hung, the fact that it was well into lunch time and Yahiko would be coming home yelling for something to eat, or even the pointed stare Sano was sending the pair over the laundry lines from the steps of the dojo on which he sat.
"No, no. I mean," she waved a hand to their surroundings, "why did you choose here? Of all the places you could have lived in, why did you come here? To my dojo?" She took a step closer, eyes narrowed, studying him in a way that would have made Sano proud.
Soujiro sighed. He knew it would come to this, sooner or later. "I will leave if you think I have over done my stay—"
She gripped his hands. "Of course not! It has nothing to do with that; you can live here for as long as you like. I'm just curious...Why with me?"
No one noticed Sano stand up.
He smiled, almost whimsically. "Your reputation proceeds you, Kaoru."
No one saw Sano walk towards the mail carrier who appeared at the doors.
"My reputation?" She laughed. "On what grounds? I'm not special."
No one noted Sano receiving the telegram.
"Oh," he grinned, squeezing their still enclosed hands, "but you are. When I first came into Tokyo, I didn't have enough money to stay at an inn. Some suggested I come here. I also hear you can work miracles with corrupt men; change them and gave them a life only reincarnation can give."
No one perceived Sano's crestfallen face upon reading his letter.
She looked at him, with large eyes that only a child who was introduced to a new sweet could harbor. "But I—"
No one was aware that Sano had walked inside.
Soujiro let go of her hands. "You do. In fact, I think I'm beginning to feel that change in me already." He winked at her.
No one took under consideration that Sano never came back.
She blinked, seeing him even more of a mystery. Finally, she pieced two and two together and came to one, startling conclusion. "Soujiro," she opened her mouth and already he knew he had stepped out of his border, the one he had swore he wasn't going to cross, "your past—"
He bit back a flinch. "—is no concern as of now. However, I do think it's time for lunch." He smiled briskly before walking away in the general direction of the kitchen to prepare what was considered the best lunch since Kenshin's days, and Kaoru, who could read his smiles real well now, knew that his was heavily forced.
Yahiko would never admit it, but he thought about Kenshin a lot more than he originally led on.
Yes, there was hate for him, buried deep inside his thoughts. But there still was, no matter the magnitude of his distaste, a certain admiration for him just as well. Kenshin had been like a second father to him—his wise words, soft appearance, and passion for peace.
On certain days when his mind would wander, when he wasn't working, hanging out with Tsubame, or training with Kaoru, he would think back to the lives they once had and how much he took it for granted.
Now, he would do anything to have it all back.
More often than not, however, Yahiko hated the man that left Kaoru behind, despite her obvious and blaring love. It pissed him off, how he had prioritized everyone else above the buso who had changed everyone she came into contact with for the better. He wished Kenshin had been, at least for once, not bent on making the world a better place and should have instead considered what was best for Kaoru—what had been best for him.
Well, then he wouldn't be the Kenshin we knew, a little voice said to him.
Shut up, Yahiko growled. And it obeyed, albeit a bit grudgingly.
Without realizing it, the young samurai found himself home. With a sigh, he slouched to the ground, defeated.
He was thinking too much. It was time he took his own advice and let go. Moved on. There were things to look forward to. There was Tsubame to think about. She even said that he was acting a bit odd today and he felt especially guilty for snapping at her. He just hoped she wasn't mad. He couldn't afford to loose one of the better things in his life.
He wouldn't admit it out loud yet, but he loved her.
Something glinted in the side of his vision and he quickly thrust his hands out to block a punch.
"Damnit, Sano!" Yahiko glared. "You trying to kill me?"
Sano, the chicken-head, the ex-fighter who never paid for his meals, smiled before retreating to a casual position. "Wow. I'm impressed. Jou-chan's trainin' must be working."
Yahiko turned his attention back to the grass and then proceeded to get right to the point. "What do you want?"
"Kaoru and Soujiro are out. Apparently she's has this sudden fetish with curry and we just have to have it for dinner tonight."
"Sano..."
He grinned and the Sagara offhandedly flicked the fishbone in his mouth away. "Ya sure you don't wanna go take another walk?"
"Look, if you're not going to tell me—"
Sano shrugged, "Alright, alright! Jeez. Just don't say I didn't warn you. In any case . . ." here he gave their surroundings a careful look about, "I've got some stuff to tell you."
"Right."
"Look. I'm serious."
Yahiko had to admit he sincerely was and decided that whatever it was had to be at least some what important, especially since it had gotten Sano's attention at the level it did.
"Alright. I'm all ears."
Sano nodded, satisfied. "Good. Now, listen carefully. I'm going to tell you a story."
Yahiko bit back a sly remark.
"A story that took place five years ago. A story about how Kenshin and I met a blue haired boy while we were in Kyoto..."
nani ni akogarete
dare wo omou no ka
inochi kakeru sugata
sukitooru utsukushisa ni
kotoba wo nonda
What do you desire?
Who is on your mind?
The silhouette risking life.
Seeing its transparent beauty,
I was lost for words.
To Be Continued . . .
A/n: School and real-life are a killer. I'm surprised I even found time to write this chapter. D:
Anyway, thank you guys very much for the comments. I love you all!