Suno-Shiro Part II

Sagara Sanosuke awoke with a start at the loud crash coming from downstairs. A quieter thump could be heard before he identified the first noise as the door slamming shut. Glancing to his left, he saw his housemate, a young boy by the name of Myojin Yahiko, had also woken up and was staring back at him.

Since he was already awake, the tall man rose from his futon and started silently for the stairs. His quiet footsteps were wasted on the dull thud the boy's feet made upon contact with each and every step as he followed Sanosuke down the stairs. The room at the base of the stairs was empty, except for a lantern which Sanosuke lit before continuing into the third—and last—room in the house.

Sanosuke paused at the doorway and looked carefully around the room. He frowned when his eyes passed a crumpled figure, lying motionless, on the floor. He crossed the room swiftly and set the lantern on the low table that was in the center. Cautiously stepping over the person, he crouched down, facing Yahiko.

"Who is he?" Yahiko asked, noticing the male clothing the person wore. Sano shrugged, showing he didn't know, and rolled the person onto his back.

"'He' is actually a 'she.'" Sanosuke said in surprise. "And she seems t'be hurt."

"What are we gonna do with her?" Yahiko asked; Sanosuke gave him instructions to bring bandages and a futon from upstairs. He brought the bandages first and then some water from the well outside before retrieving the futon. By the time the boy had it rolled out, the woman's wounds had been cared for; her only serious one was the stab wound in her upper arm that had caused all the blood.

"Now what?" Yahiko asked after Sano carefully moved their guest onto the mat. She had not woken up.

"Now we go back to bed and wait until morning." Sano said, standing and walking towards the stairs. Yahiko glanced once more at the young woman before following Sanosuke up the stairs.

When Kaoru woke up, it was to bright sunshine and the smell of food cooking. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light and tried to examine her surroundings. A sharp jolt of pain shot through her left arm as she rolled onto her left side; she hissed and returned to her back.

"How are you feeling?" an unfamiliar male voice asked. She jumped and another shot of pain went through her arm. Using her right hand, the Princess pushed herself into a seated position. Her whole body ached with the small effort.

"Who are you?" She softly asked, instead of answering his question. He chuckled quietly and turned toward her.

"I'm Sagara Sanosuke. Now, how're ya feelin'?"

"Fine." Kaoru answered, looking around nervously.

"I'll hafta check that bandage soon." Kaoru glanced down at hearing this and saw that her arm was neatly bandaged; the sleeve of her gi had been torn off and the blood washed from her arm and hands.

"Thank you, Sagara-san."

"Uh-uh." He said, shaking his head. "No '-san' for me. 'Sano' will do fine." She nodded. "Breakfast is almost done. You'll probably want to change. There are some gis the same size as yours upstairs." He checked her bandage before helping her to her feet and sending her towards the stairs. She paused at the doorway and turned back around.

"Does anyone else live here?"

"Yes." Sano replied. "Myojin Yahiko—you'll meet him in a little while—and Himura Kenshin."

"Kenshin…"she breathed.

"You know him?" Sano was surprised.

"Yes." She nodded. "I have for a long time."

"He's not here right now, but he'll be back in a couple of days. You're welcome t'stay."

"Thank you, Sano."

"No problem, Jou-chan." Kaoru bristled at the unfamiliar nickname.

"Kaoru." She said. "My name is Kamiya Kaoru." She turned and walked through the doorway without waiting for his reaction. Once at the base of the stairs, she looked up and saw that they seemed to be a mile high. Her body was oddly sore, but she ignored it and grasped the railing with her right hand. Once at the top, there was only one door which she pushed open to reveal a small bedroom.

The ceiling sloped at the far side, and there were two futons on the floor. There were also three wooden trunks sitting near the wall. Kaoru opened each until she found the one with the correct gis, into which she changed. Then, picking up her ruined gi, she sighed, and looked over the torn, bloody fabric. But now that she was at Kenshin's house, she didn't need his gi as a reminder of him. When the Princess returned to the kitchen, the futon she had used was rolled up against the wall and there was a young boy sitting with Sano at the table.

"Kamiya-san, breakfast is ready." Sano told her.

"Please, just call me Kaoru." She replied, sitting across from him at the table. "You must be Myojin Yahiko." She said to the boy. He had spiky dark hair and could have passed as Sano's brother.

"Yeah." He mumbled and dug into his food. When the meal was finished, Yahiko scampered off and Kaoru offered to help with the dishes. Sano refused and took them outside to a wash tub.

Kaoru took her chance to examine the room better. Like the rest of the house, it was relatively small, only big enough to fit a woodstove, the table, and her futon. She had only visited the house once, and she hadn't been inside, having only stayed briefly.

"We're going to cut some firewood." Sano told her as he put the dishes away. "You can come if you want or stay here." She decided she wanted to stay, and her hosts left, disappearing into the woods.

The quietness of the house settled around her. Kaoru was not used to this sort of silence: the castle had always been busy. Here, there was nothing for her to do, except sit. As she once again looked around the room, she noticed that it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Attempting to distract herself, she busied herself with dusting.

The morning passed quickly, and the little house was soon spotless. By noon, she was finished and decided to make lunch. Just as she was finishing making the miso soup and rice, voices could be heard coming from the woods. Yahiko and Sano were apparently arguing about something.

"Yeah?" Yahiko yelled as the two walked in the door. "Well, you—" Both stopped their argument when they noticed the stench coming from the kitchen.

"What's that smell?" Sano demanded, looking around as if expecting to see something burning.

"Oh…um…" Kaoru stammered sheepishly. "I was trying to cook lunch. It didn't seem so hard, but…" She gestured to the ugly green liquid in the pot.

"I'm not eating that!" Yahiko said, backing up. After Yahiko was reassured several times that he didn't have to eat it, Sano decided to make lunch. The Princess' hosts spent the rest of the afternoon hauling firewood before returning to eat dinner, also made by Sano.

"Kenshin should be returnin' tomorrow. The kid—"

"I'm not a kid!"

"—and I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning to finish the firewood. I'll leave breakfast out for ya." Kaoru nodded and her hosts went upstairs to bed. Her futon had been moved to the second room.

Just as they had said they would be, Sano and Yahiko were gone when Kaoru woke up. She found breakfast sitting on the table and ate it before taking her dish to the wash bin outside and cleaning it.

Putting away the dishes, Kaoru heard voices around midday, but these definitely did not belong to a boy and a young man; they were quiet and rough. Kaoru quickly recognized them as belonging to a pair of castle guards. Panic flowed through her body, and she quickly lifted the broom from its place against the wall. At least this time, she would start with a weapon.

The voices quieted as the front door opened, and Kaoru moved swiftly into the second room. She heard the door creak open, and muffled footsteps crossed the floor. When the first man entered the room, Kaoru whipped the broom handle down and struck him on the back of the head. She began to lift the broom to strike at the other man, but pain shot through her left arm. The broom was much too heavy to wield with one hand, and her left arm was now useless.

"Nice try, Kamiya-san." The guard laughed, advancing on her. "I guess there was a reason for Her Majesty to send two of us." Kaoru suddenly felt wetness on her arm and looked down to find blood seeping through the bandage; she had reopened her wound.

"What do you want?" Kaoru asked, backing away.

"I don't want anything, but Her Majesty wants you to never return."

"Well, I don't plan on it. You can tell her that." She had backed as far as she could go.

"No, I have my orders." The guard pulled a cloth and a small bottle from his gi. He poured a liquid on the cloth and sprung forward, dropping the bottle. Kaoru dodged to her left, but the guard caught her left arm and squeezed. The Princess cried out in pain and found herself smothered by the odd-smelling rag.

Dizziness clouded her mind, and she lost sensation in her arms and legs. Kaoru slid to the floor, as she lost the ability to stand. Her cries were muffled by the cloth and in her panic, she didn't think to hold her breath. The last thing she saw was Sano appearing in the doorway, before she passed out.


Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Here's the second part! There's only one or twomore to go. My plans changed from my original version, and only the first chapter has remained the same. Thanks for the reviews! I hope you all didn't forget about me!