Hello! Happy New Year! I promised I would have more frequent updates for a while, so I'm here.
2020 was a cataclysmic disaster. Not all bad, but definitely not enough good times in between all the bad either. In any case, I'm glad it's over. Online schooling does not favour me at all. College is already so stressful, but doing it in a unique home-like mine? Sigh. It was all too much for my mental health and if not for my graded internship I honestly don't know where my GPA would be. Speaking of internship, it definitely was a highlight for me last year. It's a comic book company (primarily) and I work there as a writer now, yayyy. Check it out sometime: Comic Republic. I haven't written a comic of my own yet but in due time little doves. UwU
The Faux Battousai/Hiruma brothers' arch is doneeeeeeeee. Finally. I hope you guys liked it.
Anyways replies to reviews are at the end this time, because this AN is hella long. My bad, teehee. Anyways on with the story!
UwU
When Kaoru had woken up in the hospital, she was alone.
She resented hospitals. Her father had died peacefully in his sleep and her mother had died in her early childhood so she didn't have a distinctive history with hospitals. The family doctor was an absolute joy to be around and a good enough doctor to effectively treat her in the comfort of her home whenever she fell ill. As a result, hospitals seemed like a dark concept or foreboding dreary notion. You didn't end up in a hospital except shit had hit the fan. It seemed pensive and scary and as though people were hardly happy there. She knew, of course, this wasn't necessarily the case, but knowing that didn't shake the dread she had for the place.
And yet here she was, alone with nothing but the sound of whirring machines that she couldn't for the life of her tell what they did.
The bounty hunters had left, not sticking around for her to wake up. Her final fight didn't leave severe backlash of opening old wounds despite all her pushing during her convalescent period, but it did compound with the wounds of the previous fight to exhaust her to the bone and leave her fatigued out. She hadn't been asleep for so long though, only a little over twenty-four hours. But it was too much time for the hunters who made a living off of delivering criminals to the police in one piece. That the criminal was a rarity in the region only increased the urgency and pushed her further down their list of priorities.
They had left her flowers though, which had counted for something. By her window were two bouquets: one composed of pretty white and yellow flowers and another of white and two shades of purple. Each bouquet had a card and she read the one in the white and yellow flowers first.
"Get well soon Tanuki-chan. Kenshin man is worried sick. But you're a badass aren't ya, ya lil' lady? You'll be just fine. I know it.
Kenshin says the flowers I picked are dumb, but his face is dumb so yeah. They're pretty and you're pretty and that's that. They're also cheap, but my thoughts count more than my wallet.
Sorry we bailed, but "someone" was a dumbass. I'll definitely see you soon, 'kay?
Sano.
PS. We left the stray cat in your home."
Kaoru had smiled, it was just like Sanosuke to write like this. She stared at the card in the purple and white flowers with more trepidation, anxious about reading it. But eventually, curiosity won out.
"Kaoru-dono.
Firstly, forgive Sanosuke-san's lack of discretion in his choice of bouquet. I warned him that snapdragons and yellow carnations are just counterintuitive to his intention to wish you well, but the boy's got a hard head. You are hardly deceiving - certainly one of the most straightforward women I've met - and contrary to the carnation, we all know Sanosuke-san harbours no disdain for you in his heart."
Kaoru had rolled her eyes. He so put that there to show off his knowledge in the unique skill of flower-speak.
"Secondly, I present to you these lovely purple hyacinths as a token of my remorse. I apologize for you landing in this position. That I was present in your life at the time of this fiasco demanded that I am of value in protecting you. I failed and now you are in a hospital bed. This could have all been avoided if I had done better.
The story behind the purple hyacinth is very melodramatic, I found it in a book of mine. It's just like me to like such things I'm afraid, the life of a bounty-hunting samurai has no melodrama of its own.
The white chrysanthemums are... well. You'll find out about them in time, I suppose. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a coward in such things.
The lavenders, of course, for healing. I have faith in your recovery and I wish for it to be free of hassle. Also to hoping for a bit of relief from all the madness bounty hunters bring, for your sake, haha.
All of my love Kaoru-dono,
Kenshin."
Kaoru had stared at the bouquet in her hand and squeezed it tightly. She sighed as she looked out the window; it was just like Kenshin to be so...
The nurse had met her staring out the window and holding Kenshin's letter in her other hand, and was kind enough to take it from her absent-minded patient and put it in a vase of water.
She had left the hospital three days later, after surgery on her thigh. There was barely a scar there, just a small, spidery kind of star shape adorning her flesh. Thank God for the power of medicine - she could have gotten away with no scars at all, but that would take much longer and require a commitment to post-surgery care. Kaoru was not a fan and wasn't ready to impose such a regimen on her family doctor.
She sort of resented that her occupationally exotic friends had left her by herself, but she supposed it was only natural. The threat was locked away for good this time, with what the lawyer working with the Hiruma brothers having spilt his guts worth of truths once taken into custody. He probably wanted to plead that he was forced into coercion. It no longer mattered to her either way. The guys were probably celebrating on their ship or maybe taking a break. They didn't seem like the type to go hunt after hunt.
She left the hospital on the third day in fairly good spirits and with her still healthy flowers, thanking the head surgeon and nurses for a successful surgery as well the staff for taking care of her during her post-surgery monitoring stage. Hospitals were still one of her least favourite places ever, but the people working there were alright at least. Ultimately she was glad to leave, glad all of this nonsense was behind her. Hopefully, Kenshin and Sanosuke wouldn't become strangers though, she quite enjoyed her company.
Kenshin being a stranger to her sounded like something from a bad movie, oddly.
She kicked out her once bad leg once, twice for good measure and then thanked the universe for medicine yet again. Nothing was holding her from picking up training and teaching immediately. At that moment her stomach made a pitiful sound and she remembered that she had declined on most of the hospital meals om grounds of no appetite. Of course her appetite would return once she no longer had access to free ready-made food. Of course.
With a groan, she left the front of the hospital and decided to eat out at a fancy restaurant. The hospital was a good ways distance from her residential district, and she'd have to take a space bus to get back home. She'd rather eat out and see some sights to celebrate the end of the recent fiasco in her life than endure her own cooking.
With this conviction, she got out her phone to locate the most convenient way from her current location to a four-star restaurant and back to her home. It ended up showing her the route to a nearby subway station that would take her to an upscale commercial district thirty minutes away and back home on a 90-minute leisurely road bus ride. Pleased with her findings, she decided to head en route for her celebration of one.
She did think it would have been nicer with Kenshin and Sanosuke around.
...
Kaoru hummed to herself as she made her way to the edge of the district, where a bus stop that hosted buses on the route to her district was waiting. In one hand was her bouquet. In the other was a fancy take-out that held a fancy-looking bottle of matcha tea and a fancy bento box of onigiri, sweet potato dumplings, wasabi beef rolls and fish sticks. She knew Yahiko would be waiting for her, probably under threat by the bounty hunters to keep her home clean and safe while she was in the hospital. More than likely, the brat was irritable because of it, and she wasn't ready to deal with an attitude. She could only hope the peace offering she planned to share with him would placate whatever ill mood could be waiting at home for her.
The restaurant was definitely an experience she would love to have again. Maybe she could go with the boys if they were ever in town again, and she could even take Yahiko along. Although she doubted they had decent outfits to wear. The most cleaning up the bounty hunters had done had turned them into rogueish gentlemen of the underworld. Handsome rogueish gentlemen, to be fair, but still.
She was only half aware as she came to a stop at the bus stop, her mind on a thousand different things and a million miles away. According to the time-signboard, her bus would be pulling up in another twenty-three minutes. There was only one another person there, a tall slender woman whose feminine curves were hard to miss even in her lavender iro-muji. The kimono coincided beautifully with the satin obi of white, green and purple leafy patterns. She had a smooth pale cream complexion and long sleek black hair, with shoulder-length side stands and a bang she styled into a side parting.
Beside her, in a messy ponytail, too-long bangs, her father's vintage patterned haori over a plain white shirt that was tucked into a greys hakama, Kaoru's street look felt underwhelming. With simple but elegant jewellery of pearl earrings with a matching necklace that held a small jade carved into a poppy, Kaoru looked like a hippy in her too many different bangles and her ceramic drooping necklace.
Kaoru took a minute to work herself into false confidence, reminding herself that she looked good enough to patronise a fancy establishment without being mistaken for a hippy. We couldn't all look like we just finished attending an invite-only opera concert on a Saturday, and she could have looked worse with what her outfit being chosen by a pair of bounty hunters of all things. She was fine, definitely good enough and that's okay.
'Sumimasen... I like your outfit,' Kaoru said finally, deciding that talking to this very beautifully dressed lady as the normal person she was would quell her own inadequacies. The woman turned to Kaoru, bending her head slightly. 'It's very... uh, chic and graceful.'
The woman smirked at Kaoru's nervousness, her small pert lips a lovely shade of red against her skin, and her brown eyes appraised Kaoru's outfit casually. The sensei had the distinct impression that she was being sized up like a fox sized up a rabbit.
'I like yours too. Very urban. It's cute, nee-chan.' She commented finally. Kaoru nodded and muttered a small thank-you, feeling shy that this distinguished-looking lady appreciated her street fashion look. The woman, mildly intrigued by this tomboy looking girl that had complimented her, appraised the flowers Kaoru was holding with polite curiosity. 'These flowers are... interesting.'
'Yeah,' Kaoru laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with the fist that held the bouquets. 'They were well-wishing gifts from some friends. One of them knows a lot about flowers and their meaning, the other not so much.'
The woman smirked again, amusement all over her face.
'I could tell. Unless your friend was covertly trying to insult you. I know someone who keeps giving me snapdragons but it took a while to realise the person was an idiot and not actually insulting my integrity every time.' Kaoru giggled at the comment, reminded of Sanosuke. The pretty stranger let out a dainty giggle as well. 'The lavender is a nice touch though, were you ill?'
'Training accident,' Kaoru lied smoothly. The friendliness of the stranger was a welcome surprise, but retelling the story behind her hospital visit felt a bit on the oversharing side. 'I'm a kendo sensei and one of my students accidentally cut too hard. I had to go in for minor surgery.' Her new companion gave her a sympathetic smile. 'He also sent the purple one to apologize, though it's not really necessary, the hazard is part of the job description and all.'
'I understand that there are risks to bear in such fields. I'm a doctor and I have dealt with minor injuries that come from the likes of sports and weapon training.'
'You're a doctor? Ah...' Kaoru nodded as realization set in. 'It makes sense now.' The doctor giggled again, amused. 'Do you happen to know what the white ones mean though? He didn't really say, I'm guessing he probably forgot.'
'Oh?' The doctor tilted her head and made another sympathetic face. 'It would appear as though your student wants to withdraw.'
Kaoru blinked.
'Huh?' She made a face, not processing what she was hearing. 'Wait, you mean like, leave, right?'
'The school? Most likely yes. Given that the hyacinths mean remorse and regret, I imagine he probably felt guilty and thought it best to leave your dojo or something. If he wrote the meanings for the others and not the white chrysanthemum then he must've not known how to actually tell you.' The doctor sighed. 'The poor boy must feel so bad, huh?'
Kaoru nodded her head absentmindedly, her heart no longer in the conversation.
'Yeah, poor guy,' she said half-heartedly, despite not meaning it. The doctor misunderstood her countenance as a surprise and a bit of guilt at her supposed "students" self-loathing. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
'He's clearly a good kid. This might seem forward from a stranger like myself, but you should probably reach out to his parents. Let them know that he isn't really to blame and doesn't have to leave.'
Kaoru nodded and gave the lady doctor a small, wry smile.
'I appreciated that, sensei.'
Just then a bus came by and parked. Kaoru casually glanced at her phone, she still had six minutes to go till her bus arrived.
'Oh well look at that, my bus is here. I'm afraid I have to leave now.' The doctor gave a warm smile and bowed lightly to Kaoru. 'Thank you for a most pleasant conversation!' Kaoru reciprocated the bow and gratitude in kind and waved as the alighted the bus. She called out from her seat by the window, which wasn't far from the door. 'Good luck with your student sensei!'
'Thank you! Have a safe trip.' Kaoru said brightly, waving till the bus was out of sight. The sensei left waiting let out a heavy sigh.
"Kenshin wants to leave me..."
For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why that idea hurt, but it did. When she bus arrived and she alighted it, she listened as the radio blared praises of the quick response of the bounty hunters to the petty crime in the city. She was sure they were Kenshin and Sanosuke; few bounty hunters were around Tokyo sector and the chance presence of those two made them readily available to go after any cheap bounties available. She was wrong to assume they'd take a break then. Maybe Kenshin had already started an unholy splurge of funds on ice-cream and dango.
The thought made her smile sadly. Of course Kenshin would have to leave, he didn't even live in Tokyo, talkless of with her. He was basically a wandering samurai with a side job. He had to leave.
But somehow there was a permanence to the concept that just didn't sit right with the sensei.
...
'Tadaima Yahiko-kun!' Kaoru called out as she stepped through the front door of the main house with her shoeless feet. The sound of feet lightly padding on the floorboards told her that Yahiko was running, most likely away from her. She sighed. 'I brought food!'
The sound of running came again, this time growing louder.
'Okaerinasai!' Yahiko ran into the lobby and bowed hastily, before rushing for the food. Irritable and lacking patience, Kaoru was just about ready to swat him away with the flowers in her hand when she heard Kenshin's voice come ar ways from the side.
'Yahiko I'd step back if I were you. And Kaoru-dono they're perfectly cultured flowers, no need to make them die an early death in a fate of rage, ne?'
Yahiko felt Kaoru's gloomy disposition, and with one look at her face wisely apologised and faded into obscurity.
'I imagine you've said your farewell already, so why are you still here?' She asked casually as she made her way through the waiting room to the wicker chair to place the food she bought.
Kenshin blinked in surprise, before chuckling nervously.
'I didn't know you knew flower-speak. Was hoping to explain the intentional nature of my chosen flowers.'
'It was a lucky find,' Kaoru admitted curtly, her fingers absently toying with the chrysanthemums. 'What do you want Kenshin?'
'Apart from the obvious?' The redhead his thumb swipe at the edge of his nose and cleared his throat. 'I want you to be safe Kaoru-dono. We've been a magnet for trouble lately and I'm not comfortable with it.'
'And the solution is to walk away, right? Not me defending myself or you defending me-'
'You don't need me to protect you-'
'Damn right I don't!' She spat as she pointed the flowers at him and pointed at the thigh that had undergone surgery. 'This was just a hazard of the job, ne?'
'Kaoru-dono if I was never here this wouldn't have happened-'
'I would be dead Kenshin! Tokyo Space Police needed bounty hunters because they couldn't handle him! I'm not so hardheaded that I'll insist I could have dealt with it when I just left the hospital because I was in over my head.' She hung her head, her face turning pink with slight embarrassment. 'Look. I'm not asking you to be my bodyguard or anything. You're pretty good with the sword, the best I've ever seen and to be honest with Yahiko around, I wouldn't mind-'
'I'm not teaching you my fighting style Kaoru. Or Yahiko. You're no killer and neither is he.'
'Neither are you! I've seen you fight you could kill if you wanted to, but you don't because you're not that kind of person!'
'Yeah well I used to be.' He bit back more forcefully than he intended. Kaoru blinked, taken aback, and he sighed as his rigid posture slouched. 'That's why Gohei took my name and identity.' He looked at her sadly. 'I'm not going to carry guilt for his choices on my head, but it did put into perspective the motivations for my intentions.'
'What intentions?' She asked with derision, her face in a sneer
'Not the ones you want me to act on,' Kenshin smirked despite himself, feeling some small satisfaction as he watched her fluster up and squirm with indignation. 'You're right to say that a lot would be worse if Sanosuke and I were never here, but we were here and we weren't nearly enough to do the best you deserved. But its all over now, and I don't want to keep putting you in danger by being here any longer.'
'That literally makes no sense,' exasperation entered her words as she pinched her nose bridge. 'Your being here kept me from worse danger than I could have been in. Yet you insist that you being here puts me in danger.'
'No it sounds about right,' he said sagely, gesturing his fingers to her that she was spot on. She rolled her eyes and put her hand on her hips.
'Don't be bloody dramatic! You're not dangerous Kenshin.'
'Yes I am.' His tone was clipped and adamant. 'I am a wanderer and I have no roots precisely because I am dangerous. I took this job to protect others and to sustain myself, and staying in one place for too long is counterintuitive to my mission to keep them protected because my presence attracts trouble and endangers them.'
'I said I don't need you to stay!' Kaoru yelled, her eyes welling up with tears. 'Just don't be a freaking stranger damn you!'
Kenshin paused and looked at her.
'You say that because you liked the thrill of us being around. You lived for the risk despite your whole life at stake and you threw yourself in the heart of our mission.' His eyes were burning amber when he looked her straight in her own eyes. Kaoru stared back in anger.
'You don't know a damn thing if that's what you think is my motivation.'
But Kenshin wasn't listening anymore. He made his way past her and towards the door.
'This life isn't for you, Kaoru-dono. You're not one of us and you can't act like you are.'
Kaoru clutched the stems of her flowers so tightly they could have snapped in two, listening for the shoji door to slide open and slide shut. When she didn't hear it she turned round in anger, hurling the flowers at him.
'Get the hell out of my house!'
Kenshin let the flowers hit the back of his head and let out a sigh, before opening the door.
'I'm sorry Kamiya-san.'
That hurt Kaoru more than watching him leave and shut the door behind him. She let several beats of silence past before her turbulent emotions gave was for exhaustion. She sighed.
'Yahiko I know you're eavesdropping.' She called out finally. 'Put the flowers in a vase and heat up what I got us. I'll join you for tea in a little while. I just need a long minute.' She didn't wait for him to show his face before making her way to her room, though she heard the sound of him moving to heed her instructions.
She took a shower and changed into shorts, socks and a big t-shirt. She didn't really feel like joining Yahiko despite what she had said. Luckily she didn't have to. The door to her room slid open and Yahiko came in balancing a rolled-up tatami mat and a tray of snacks and tea.
'You should have knocked,' Kaoru admonished half-heartedly. Yahiko tilted his head in apology and set to work setting up the mat for lunch.
'My hands were full, sorry. Plus the shower went off a while ago and I figured you were done and you might want company.'
'You're not mad Kenshin won't stay to teach you. I was under the impression you preferred his technique.'
'Yeah well I won't repeat it, but yours is pretty cool too. He already told me he was planning on keeping his distance while you were in the hospital. Sanosuke bullied me into understanding though,' he admitted with a scowl and a blush. Kaoru gave a tired laugh as she sat down and helped herself to tea. Yahiko followed her lead.
'Thank you for bringing in the food. I wasn't really ready to do anything.'
'Yeah well don't get used to it. Tomorrow its business as usual.'
'Haven't met a kid so proud to be a brat before.'
'I know I'm amazing Tanuki-chan.'
Kaoru wordlessly poured the remaining cup of tea on his head and helped herself to another serving.
'All things considered, I kinda deserve that, so I'll pay you back tomorrow.'
I DID ITTTTTTT. I finished this earlyyyy. I'm so proud of myself!
So this is how Megumi-gumi and Kaoru met, at the crossroads of life that is a bus-stop. Heheheh. This is essentially a filler chapter, though all my fillers always have a role to play in the main arcs.
Kenshin and Sanosuke used part of the bounty to pay for her hospital bills so yeah. But considering she kept throwing herself into danger despite their attempts to keep her OUT of their hunts... meh. Kaoru is a trouble seeker, they just don't know it yet. They think they're the problem. Or at least Kenshin does.
I wonder if their argument was compelling enough, I was going for a lot of sub texting in their dialogue and trying to have the angst strike through as true, because what is life without the occasional decent angst, really? I hope it didn't feel to OOC or inconsistent with the profiles I established earlier in the story.
I did think Gohei and Kihei would have been executed in the era of the canon, but we don't do that in Outerspace. He broke out of the district jail - like a county jail. Gohei was never actually going to kill her immediately, though he wanted to. He was going to knock her out and kidnap her for Kihei's plans, and then kill her. Probably stage it as an accident or a mugging after. Right now they're in a proper prison though, on trial and everything. Their chapter is closed.
I spent the past 3 days betaing all the chapters because my G, do I KNOW that I get my words flopped and make a bunch of dumb typos while writing. I'm prone to typos because I type fast and even when I proofread I just know I missed something else still because I read fast too. Betaing is definitely not for everybody. I would really like a beta to help with the mistakes. Any recommendations on how and who to meet? I'd really appreciate it.
I like that everyone is really happy with my consistency with the pacing and characterization. I wanted Gohei and every character really to have a bit of an edge that typically had no place in the canon, because Cowboy Bebop fans all know how edgy the anime is. That you actually think my work is any good at all makes me very happy. My face always lights up into megawatts and I squeal when I see a new review. I really appreciate the constructive criticism as well. It tells that people pay attention to my content and are interested in seeing it be even better which also makes me super happy.
If you feel like you missed something then it could because I may have changed some details to make sure the continuity is apt. But it might be that you missed an update, this site gets a little buggy sometimes.
Thank you so much for reviewing and favouriting and following you're all precious darlings and I love you!
ANYWAYS you all seem excited to see where this story goes from there. Well, I hope to impress, so hold on tight kids! =UwU=