Luckily, there's a library close by so I will be able to continue my story at least during June. So here's the next chapter. Kind of long, but maybe it will make up for my sporadic updates. :-D
Chapter 10
Kaoru spent the whole of the day that Kenshin left in organized chaos. She desperately wanted to give the house and dojo a thorough cleaning so it would be presentable when the guests arrived (cleaning had fallen behind in the importance factor lately) but it just wasn't working out. Gensai-sensei came over early with Ayame and Suzume and asked if Kaoru could watch them while he aided Megumi. The Aizu doctor had a lot of sick patients supposedly. Kaoru wanted to throw the rag she was holding in his face and say no but instead she smiled and said there was nothing she'd like better.
Sano had conveniently disappeared, and Yahiko had tried to as well but Kaoru quickly banished him and Kaiba to the house to scrub the floors. If she ever got a break, she was going to dust every room she had.
"Mou, Shinta, go and play with Ayame and Suzume," Kaoru said as the five-year-old tugged at her kimono.
"But I want to play samurai and they want to play house." Shinta whined.
Kaoru growled softly. "Ok, tell them they can be the samurai's geishas."
Shinta brightened. "That's a good idea!" And he trotted off, calling to Gensai's two granddaughters. Kaoru sighed resignedly and tried to concentrate on her job. Thoughts kept filling her head though, like what she was going to do to feed everyone, how she was even going to get the food because she wasn't about to go walking to the market.
"Kaoru-san!" It was Yumiko this time. Kaoru had asked the girl to wash the laundry.
"What is it?" Kaoru asked, still dusting.
"I was rinsing the laundry in the tub and Shinta threw dirt in it!" Kaoru stopped her dusting and marched to the back with clenched fists. Shinta was taking flak from Suzume when she got there.
"SHINTA!" The boy jumped. He hadn't heard Kaoru sound so threatening before.
"It was an accident! I was pretending to throw bombs at the enemies, I didn't know ane-ue was doing laundry!" He looked truly penitent, right down to the tears welling up in his eyes.
"Well–watch what you're doing," Kaoru said finally. The rest of the day was more of the same. She had to beat Yahiko over the head to go get the food while Kaiba laughed uproariously (that's a woman's job!) and while they were gone she had to take care of Ayame who had gotten sick soon after she had arrived.
Gensai-sensei, you rat, Kaoru thought after she'd laid Ayame on a futon. He had to have known she wasn't feeling well. Needless to say, lunch was not a huge success. Yumiko had helped cook, thank goodness, so there was at least some food that wasn't charbroiled.
By the time the sun had set, Kaoru was ready to die from stress. She sent everyone to bed early and collapsed on the porch, thinking self-pityingly of all the problems she had encountered. "And I didn't even fix the wall!" Kaoru moaned, pounding her fist on the floor as she remembered the gaping hole at the entrance. Well, everyone would just have to get over it, she could only do so much.
Listening to the cicadas chirp and seeing the fireflies illuminate the night with their signals made her feel considerably better, so she stayed outside another ten minutes before crawling off to her futon. She could hardly wait for Kenshin to get back and relieve her of some of her troubles.
OOO
The trip back to Tokyo seemed much longer than the ride to Kyoto. In fact, the trip just seemed plain long, to all involved. This was due mainly to Misao and Hiko, one who wouldn't stop talking and persisted on running from one end of the train to other to see just how fast they were going and the other who sat with stoic silence casting occasional disparaging looks at the hyper ninja.
"I told you she hadn't changed much," Kenshin said while Hiko glared daggers at Misao, for what must have been the thirtieth time, as she ran past in a whirlwind of noise also for the thirtieth time.
"I expected she would have matured some by now. Well, I should have realized that not everyone can be as perfect as me," Hiko gave a dashing grin. Saitou, sitting across from him and Kenshin, responded with a look of supreme dislike. He hadn't much cared for Hiko as soon as he had laid eyes on him.
Saitou had heard that Hiko's unexpected arrival at the Aoiya had saved the restaurant, and considered him an opponent more worthy than Kenshin at least (any man with the resolve to kill was more worthy than Kenshin). However, someone that centered on himself was not a person Saitou found endearing. Not surprisingly, Saitou found few people endearing. He could get along with him though, as much as he got along with Kenshin, to get his job done.
Speaking of, the self-declared rurouni was being extremely annoying at the moment, sitting there with that fake smile plastered on his face. Battousai would never have smiled like that. Saitou couldn't take it. He got up to leave.
"Where are you going?" Kenshin asked. Saitou had to step aside as Misao barreled down the corridor. She would have run him over without a second thought.
"Not that you need to know but I thought I'd get some food." And spinning on his heel, Saitou walked languorously to the dining car. Misao stopped short, dizzy and out of breath.
"Wow, we really are going pretty damn fast. I counted fourteen trees a second. That puts us at almost 28 kilometers an hour." She saw Hiko looking at her as if doubting her calculations. "I count 4 when I run, so I just figured it out from that," She said proudly.
"I don't doubt your estimate I just didn't think a girl of your age was able to add like that." Misao glared demon eyes at Kenshin's smirking master. Hiko was adept at turning anything into an insult.
"Kora! Any member of the Oniwabanshuu can do tricks like that by the time they're five!"
"Obviously I underestimated you," Hiko said.
"Why does that happen so often?" Misao muttered to herself. And for the rest of the ride to Tokyo she sat perfectly still, chewing over that one question. Aoshi, needless to say, had sat perfectly still since they'd gotten on the train, thinking about who-knew-what.
Kenshin didn't bother trying to start a conversation. With this crowd, the most that he would start was an argument, so he contented himself sitting silently until the train coasted into Tokyo station.
Saitou didn't return to his seat until they were almost back and the minute the train stopped he got to his feet, muttering, "Thank god."
"Misao-dono, you're coming to see Kaoru-dono and Yahiko aren't you?" Kenshin asked as they descended onto the platform.
"Of course! If Aoshi-sama wants to go." Misao looked up at her idol.
"Not particularly," Aoshi said, "but I'll accompany you there." Misao clapped her hands together.
"Great! Hiko-san, you're coming too?"
"Of course, I'm staying there."
Misao turned to Aoshi. "Aoshi-sama, what about us? Why don't we stay at the Kamiya dojo? That would be all right, wouldn't it Himura?" She asked Kenshin.
"I don't wish to interfere," Aoshi said.
"I'm sure Kaoru-dono would love to have you," Kenshin replied. "We already have other guests anyway. Besides Shishou."
"Besides me? You failed to mention that," Hiko said.
"Three children. Katsura-dono's."
"That's right, the Ishin leader. So he's got children? How old are they?"
"Young. The oldest is Yahiko's age."
Hiko grimaced. "No doubt they're noisy."
"They can't be any worse than I was," Kenshin said.
"Of course they can, there's three of them," Hiko replied pessimistically.
Misao had been looking interested throughout the entire exchange. Now she turned to Hiko with a grin. "Hiko-san, you'll have to tell us some stories about Himura when he was a kid!" The look on Hiko's face said he would be only too happy too oblige. "Was Himura awful?" Misao asked, giving Kenshin a revengeful look.
"Depends on what you mean by awful," Hiko replied.
"I bet he wet the bed." Misao laughed behind her hand.
"Shishou!" Kenshin said in a desperate attempt to shut his master's mouth. It was ineffective.
"Frequently," Hiko said, disregarding his deshi's entreaty. "He was only nine though," He added as if that would ever help Kenshin live it down. Of course this piece of information only caused Misao to laugh harder.
"Nine!" She gasped. "Himura, you still wet the bed when you were nine!" There was a long stretch of laughter. "I bet Ayame doesn't even wet the bed anymore!"
Kenshin whirled on Hiko, eyes blazing. "Shishou . . ." He growled.
Hiko gave him a devilish smile. "Don't get so upset over this one, I have better." Kenshin didn't doubt it. His shishou had humiliated him in front of strangers numerous times with choice stories, always different. Some of them he couldn't even remember, and Kenshin wondered just how many of the things Hiko said his deshi had done were fabricated just for the purpose of seeing him squirm. Kenshin made a mental note to carefully avoid topics that would lead to tales of his childhood escapades.
"Stop pouting Himura, we're leaving!" Misao was running backwards and waving at him, Hiko and Aoshi several feet ahead of her.
"Just thinking," Kenshin corrected as he caught up.
Misao nudged his arm and gave a knowing grin. "Sure you were." Kenshin sighed inwardly. Would he never hear the end of it? "Saitou said he was staying somewhere else and you didn't need to bug him about showing up next week," Misao said as they walked. Kenshin had expected as much.
"The police will assign him," He said. "He'll feel better about it that way."
"That's what I was worried about," Misao said sarcastically. She wasn't fond of Saitou, mostly because he insisted on calling her weasel-girl.
As they drew closer to the Kamiya dojo the feeling of expectancy running through the little group grew. In two peoples' cases it was happy anticipation. In the other two, it was a resigned fate. As the dojo hove into sight, Kenshin saw with relief that the gate was locked. Good, that meant Kaoru had taken his concerns seriously.
"Kaoru-dono, tadaima!" Kenshin called. He was startled at the speed with which the gate was flung open.
"Kenshin, it's about time!" Yahiko stood holding the gate, looking haggard. He didn't even notice Hiko Seijurou, his second-favorite idol, standing behind Kenshin. "Do something about these kids." Yahiko motioned despairingly towards the Katsuras who were running around the yard with Suzume and Ayame. The two girls changed direction when they saw who was at the gate.
"Ken-nii! You're back!" They ran towards their atypical playmate, arms held out. Kenshin kneeled down to meet them.
"I'm sure I heard you say three children, but I see five," Hiko said having made a careful count of small things running on two legs.
"Aah, these are Gensai-sensei's two granddaughters," Kenshin explained, standing with the girls in his arms. "Ayame and Suzume. They visit frequently."
"Wonderful," Hiko said flatly as Ayame, smiling shyly on Kenshin's shoulder, gave him a timid wave. "Obviously all the chaos of the Bakumatsu must have left you desperate for quiet." The sarcasm wasn't lost on Kenshin.
"I find it relaxing to hear such noise," He replied. When it seemed everyone was waiting for an explanation, he continued. "It's the sounds of everyday life, people enjoying themselves. I don't want to hear the quiet that comes when people are too afraid to speak."
"Still such an idealist? I had thought the Bakumatsu would have done some good and cured you of that at least." Hiko shrugged. "I guess there's no cure for stupidity."
Kenshin gave a forced smile. "I know you don't mean it shishou." Luckily, Kaoru came storming up to the gate before Hiko could reply.
"Kenshin! I'm about to KILL these ki-!" She broke off with an 'itee!' as Shinta, not looking where he was going, tripped over her foot and stumbled headlong into Kenshin's leg with a muffled 'oomf.'
"Ken-nii!" Shinta greeted the rurouni with the nickname Ayame and Suzume had given him. "Did you see tou-san?"
Kenshin smiled at him. "Iya, I went to Kyoto. These are some of my friends that are going to help your tou-san."
Shinta looked at the four critically, eyes finally coming to rest on Hiko. "Waah! You're a swordsman too!"
Misao took the awed sentence as an insult to her okashira and took a step forward. "Hey kid! So is Aoshi-sama!" She subsided, still fuming, as Aoshi placed a hand on her head. Misao hated it that Aoshi never seemed to care what people thought about him. Himura's shishou wasn't like that, he always made sure people were awed by him. From the look on Shinta's face, today was no exception.
Kenshin had finished introducing everyone, and remembering that she hadn't seen Kaoru in months, Misao forgot her grudge with the youngest Katsura and leapt forward, smiling widely. "Kaoru-san! I haven't seen you in so long!"
"Misao-chan!" Kaoru slid a sly look at Aoshi. "So? How's it coming?" Misao's face fell as she sighed.
"Not so well but I'm trying." Her smile was back. "But that's not important. How about you and Himura? I asked him about 'things' in Kyoto."
Kaoru's face flamed. "M-Misao-chan. You didn't."
"It's okay Kaoru-san, he's still denying anything to the hilt," Misao said naively.
"Wonderful." Kaoru muttered. If things finally started going right with her and Kenshin she could count on Misao to ruin it.
Kaoru suddenly realized that she hadn't said one word of welcome to her guests and face burning with humiliation, she shoved Misao aside and blurted, "Gomen nasai, irasshaimase! I don't know what I was thinking. Please come in." Hiko and Aoshi both stepped inside with barely concealed trepidation. "Have you eaten yet?" Kaoru asked, hoping against hope they would say yes. Cooking wasn't on her list of things-I-really-want-to-do-today.
"No," Hiko said with unapologetic honesty. "But my baka deshi tells me that you aren't the world's greatest cook." Kaoru turned a fiery gaze to Kenshin.
"He must have misunderstood sessha," Kenshin said with an unashamedly innocent smile. "I only said we ate modestly." Hiko rolled his eyes when Kaoru took Kenshin at his word and said,
"He's hard to understand sometimes Hiko-san. I guess you would know though, wouldn't you?" Then she added apologetically, almost as an afterthought, "We do eat modestly though, I'm sure you're used to far better."
"Can't be any worse than what I get from the villagers." Hiko assured her as Kenshin tried to shut him up before tension descended on the dojo.
"Rice and vegetables?" Kaoru said, voice flat.
"Then again, I could be wrong." Hiko admitted. "That modest hm?"
"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin broke in, falsely cheerful, "Why don't we eat at the Akabeko today? We haven't been there in a while, and Tae-dono would like to see us I'm sure."
"Beef hot-pot!" Yahiko cheered, waving his shinai in the air.
"Um, Kenshin, that's a great idea but," Kaoru grabbed Kenshin's sleeve and pulled him to the side, giving everyone a quick smile. "Just one moment!" She lowered her voice. "But I don't have enough money to treat everyone and I can't put all this on our tab!"
"Is it that big?" Kenshin asked, scratching his head. Kaoru contained the urge to smack him. Did Kenshin even care how hard she worked to feed all of them?
"It's fairly large," Kaoru said with forced patience. There was a tap on her shoulder.
"Oi, what's with all the secrecy?" Kaoru spun around.
"Sanosuke! Don't do that!" Sano was standing behind her, and Megumi was at the gate talking with Hiko.
"'Do that?' I tapped you. What's going on here? Hey, is it a party?" Sano's eyes lit up.
"We were going to go to the Akabeko," Kenshin explained. "But Kaoru-dono's a little short on money." Sano didn't miss the meaningful look thrown his way.
"Urm, right. Well . . ." He cursed his bad luck. "I did just have a lucky streak today and I happen to be 50 sen richer. Come on Jou-chan, my turn to treat you for once." Sano tried not to sound as unwilling as he felt. Evidently he had been successful because Kaoru didn't show any remorse taking him up on his offer.
"Really? Thank goodness, I didn't know how I was going to feed everyone," She said with relief.
"Don't get too excited, this isn't going to be a regular occurrence," Sano said under his breath. Megumi had somehow overheard the conversation and she gave Sano a sly look.
"Oh, Sanosuke is going to pay for his meal for once? This I have to see."
"Why are you all acting like I just mooch off of people?" Sano asked with a hurt expression.
"Because you do." Everyone answered in unison. Faced with so many witnesses, Sano just waved their accusation aside.
"Maybe I do take a lot for granted but this will more than make up for it."
"Oh no it won't." Kaoru muttered. She wasn't as money-conscious as Tae but she did have a rough estimate of how much Sano had 'borrowed' from her, and it was far more than the amount he had won gambling.
"I see you're still taking advantage of your friends?" Hiko commented as Sano and Kaoru proceeded to get into an argument about just how much she had done for him.
"Taking advantage? Look, Kenshin may not give you any back-talk-"
"You'd be surprised," Hiko interrupted.
"But don't think you can get away with saying I don't repay my friends! Maybe not with money," Sano said hastily as he saw both Kaoru and Megumi open their mouths at the same time, "but I'm there when it counts." Neither of them could argue with that.
"Well you can stay and discuss the barter rate between economics and friendship as much as you like," Hiko said, his words promptly gathering glares from all directions, "but I'm going to go eat. Kenshin, make yourself useful for once and lead the way to this restaurant."
Yahiko gave Hiko a look as Kenshin amiably obliged his master. "He's kind of demeaning, isn't he?" Yahiko said to Kaoru, appreciative for once of his teacher. Kaoru may have been strict but at least she didn't make mocking cracks about her student. At least not as much as Hiko, Yahiko decided on second thought. But if she did, Yahiko certainly wouldn't just stand there and take it.
"Yahiko, are you coming or not?" Kaoru's voice, followed by a snide comment from Sano.
"Tsubame's waiting for you!"
Yahiko saw that he was the only one standing in front of the dojo, everyone else several feet ahead of him.
"Make sure you lock the gate!" Kaoru reminded before she turned around to strike up a conversation with her guests.
"Aah!" Grinning with anticipation, Yahiko threw the gate closed and ran after them.
OOO
"Kaoru-chan! Sanosuke! Irasshai!" Sekihara Tae greeted her somewhat frequent guests before doing a double-take. "Oh my, you have company today! So many too! Friends of yours?" Kaoru introduced everyone and Tae bowed to each one, gazing openly at Hiko a bit.
"I am honored to meet the master of Himura Kenshin. You must be even more powerful than he is." Kaoru closed her eyes with embarrassment. Tae was such a flirt. Hiko was just as bad though and gladly riposted.
"It's true what they say then," He replied smoothly, with a conceding air, "a great man cannot hide his greatness even if he wishes." The recited quote received varied reactions. Yahiko nodded impressively; Tae just kept staring dreamily; Kaoru rolled her eyes while secretly admitting that there was truth in the adage; Kenshin gritted his teeth and tried to pretend as if his master's narcissism no longer bothered him. Sano simply scowled because Megumi's starry-eyed gaze had seen nothing but Hiko since they'd arrived at the Kamiya dojo.
"Tae, a table?" Kaoru prompted a few minutes later as the manager of the Akabeko continued to stand at the doorway, lost in time. Tae blinked, as if just awaking.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You can take your usual place, it's empty." Tae nodded at the room on the left side that the Kenshin-gumi frequented. "Tsubame-chan, come help with the order please!" The soft-spoken girl Yahiko was so fond of came hurrying from the back as Kenshin and the others somehow managed to fit themselves around the hibachi.
Yahiko stared up at the ceiling with an impassive look on his face as Sano bumped his arm incessantly. "Sanosuke . . ." Yahiko said in a warning tone, and Sano decided that for today at least he wouldn't embarrass Yahiko in front of his two idols, not to mention the rest of the restaurant.
"Yes, what would you like?" Tsubame asked, setting down the traditional kettle of green tea and smiling at Yahiko as he reached for it. The boy's face promptly turned the color of brick and he looked away, pouring the tea distractedly. Needless to say, it helps to watch what you're doing when pouring tea, and even Myoujin Yahiko, descended from a long line of Tokyo samurai, was no exception.
Yahiko yelped as the hot liquid spilled onto his hakama and he dropped his cup onto the floor in surprise. "Kuso!" The cup shattered and Tsubame hastily knelt down to clean it up.
"I'm sorry Yahiko-chan, I distracted you. Here, I'll get you another cup."
"'S my fault, don't worry about it." Yahiko muttered gruffly, brushing Tsubame's hand aside and gathering the shards of clay himself. He could feel the looks from the rest of the table boring into him as he continued to pick up the rest of the cup, hands moving automatically. Why doesn't she ever shut up with the chan?
"Here." Tsubame had run to get another cup and Yahiko took it, mumbling his thanks. "Beef hot-pot for everyone?" Tsubame asked after Yahiko had successfully poured himself another cup of tea.
"And sake." Hiko added, his request inciting a look of glee from Sano. "After all it's the best time of year for it."
"Yes, beef hot-pot," Kaoru affirmed, adding with curiosity, "Tsubame-chan, is that a new kimono?" Tsubame beamed, pleased that Kaoru had noticed.
"Yes, isn't it beautiful? I went shopping with Tae-san yesterday and it was on sale and Tae-san said it looked perfect for me and she would help pay for it." It was the longest sentence Kaoru had ever heard the girl utter before.
"I like it," Yahiko said seriously. "Matches your eyes." Sano stared at him in astonishment and Yahiko scowled at him. "What?" Tsubame blushed.
"Thank you Yahiko-chan, I'm glad you like it." Yahiko hid a grimace but hadn't failed to notice that Tsubame had blushed at his compliment and not Kaoru's. He noticed that once again the entire table was staring at him, so he quickly cleared his throat and said, "Beef hot-pot."
Tsubame nodded understandingly. "I'll get it right out." She scurried away, making a side trip as another customer called her over. Misao looked at Yahiko, who was pointedly ignoring everyone.
"That's so sweet Yahiko! No one's ever told me my clothes match my eyes," Yahiko gave Misao an analytical glance.
"That's because all you ever wear is that skimpy ninja outfit. You'd think you were trying to seduce a guy or somethin', keeping your legs uncovered like that." Kenshin had to muffle a laugh. He'd thought the same thing the first time he'd met Misao, in some woods outside of Kyoto.
"What!" Misao screeched. "It's convenient, you idiot! Ninja's can't have extraneous pieces of cloth flying around when they're in battle!"
"You're safe there!" Yahiko retorted.
"You are a little old to leave your legs uncovered," Kaoru agreed. She hadn't worn outfits like Misao's since she was nine.
"Kaoru-san!" Misao protested.
"Oh, she's still just a child," Megumi said in her kitsune voice. This was the one thing that pissed Misao off most, being told how young she was.
"I'm not a child!" Misao shouted. "I'm sixteen years old!"
"You certainly could have fooled me. With your tantrums, one would hardly guess you're past twelve," Megumi said.
That was enough to shut Misao up though. She crossed her arms angrily, glaring across the table at Megumi for several seconds, then uncrossed them and grabbed Aoshi's cup. "Here Aoshi-sama," She poured the tea with a vengeance and thrust the cup towards him, causing some of the bitter liquid to slosh over the side.
Aoshi took the cup calmly. "That's not the way I taught you tea ceremony," He commented mildly.
Misao looked crushed. "I-I'm sorry. Here, let me do it right–" She reached for the cup.
"But it will do this time." Aoshi lifted the cup to his lips and Misao's mood brightened.
"Un!"
Tsubame returned in record time, carrying several jars of sake, which she sat at the edge of the table. Sano reached for one with a satisfied grunt but Hiko's hand somehow got there faster than his own.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I requested this," Hiko said, deftly moving the sake to his side of the table as he inspected the label. "Ah, Toyatoma, I like this place already. Good sake should be enjoyed in the proper manner though." Hiko didn't need to say anything else; Megumi and Kaoru were already both reaching for his cup.
"Megumi-san! You snatched that from my hands!" Kaoru said indignantly as the sake cup she'd been reaching for appeared as if by magic in Megumi's hand.
"Allow me, Hiko-san," Megumi said graciously, pouring the sake in a manner Kaoru wished she could imitate. Then, as if Kaoru's complaint had just reached her, Megumi asked with feigned innocence, "I'm sorry Kaoru-chan, did you want one too? There's some more right there." And she turned back to the task at hand.
"Fine then, I'll pour some for Kenshin," Kaoru said spitefully, picking up another cup.
"What, I'm only second best?" Kenshin said, more to himself than Kaoru.
"Would you rather pour it yourself?" Kaoru growled.
"No, no, by all means," Kenshin gestured appeasingly.
Meanwhile, Sano was sporting a frown that was growing deeper by the second. "So who's gonna pour sake for me?" He muttered.
"It's right in front of you, idiot," Yahiko said, digging an elbow into Sano's side.
"Watch it brat." Sano snapped, but saw the cup held in front of him right as he said it. "Oh. Heh. Thanks kitsune," He said sheepishly, taking the cup from Megumi's hands. She gave him an exasperated look.
The second round was already being poured. Sano considered it a victory when he poured the sake for Megumi quicker than Hiko. Kaoru was impatiently waiting for Kenshin to obey tradition and fill her cup, which he did with a slightly melancholic smile. Kaoru caught the look and almost asked about it but determined not to say anything at the last minute. She wasn't going to pry into Kenshin's thoughts.
"You can enjoy the sake?" Hiko asked, looking at Kenshin purposefully.
"Aah," Kenshin said with a contented look on his face. "It's sweet. Like life." Hiko nodded, satisfied. Maybe his deshi had learned something since abandoning his training.
"Sake's always sweet." Yahiko added a little too giddily, eyes spinning. He'd already tried to guzzle one jar by himself and Shinta was enjoying watching Yahiko's face turn greener by the second.
Kaiba gave him a disapproving stare. "Can't hold your drink huh?" He asked needlessly.
"Let's see you try!" Yahiko goaded. "I bet–urf!" Yahiko raced from the table, eyes bulging, one hand over his mouth.
Sano laughed and reached for the half empty jug Yahiko had abandoned. "Alright, anyone for a competition against the best sake drinker in Japan?" He challenged. "Come on, this is a chance to redeem yourself Kenshin. You lost our last match."
Kenshin gave a good-natured laugh. "Actually, I think it was a tie. I wasn't really drunk, I just wanted to see what you were up to." Sano scowled.
"Trying to weasel out of losing huh? Okay then, either way there's a re-match involved, so let's do it!" Hiko was still guarding his jar as if it was a precious jewel, so Sano grabbed the one that was left and thunked it in front of Kenshin, glaring seriously.
"Alright, alright," Kenshin conceded, wrapping the jar around his hand with a less than enthusiastic motion. Sano gave him a competitive grin.
"Yosha! Let's get this started!" He had hardly lifted the sake jar to his mouth when Tsubame returned carrying the beef hot-pot. At the same moment Kenshin threw the sake jar off his hand and whipped his sakabatou out, effectively placing Tsubame between himself and his sword.
For a split second, Sano looked at Kenshin as if he had gone crazy. But then he heard the clink of metal on metal. "What the hell was that?" Sano questioned, his gaze moving to the sakabatou that Kenshin still held extended. Tsubame was standing like a frozen rabbit, staring with wide eyes at Kenshin. Kenshin lowered his sakabatou but didn't re-sheath it.
"I'm sorry Tsubame-dono, it seems someone wants to interrupt our meal," Kenshin said calmly, pulling a chopstick honed to an arrow-sharp point from the handle of his katana. There was a pop and one of the strings wrapped around the handle snapped in half.
"Damn!" Sano turned to the table on their left, the only direction the chopstick could have come from. A group of red-faced, tough-looking men were leering at them, alternately nodding the Kenshin-gumi's way and cackling.
"Tsubame-chan? Are you okay?" Kaoru asked, as Tsubame was still standing with the beef hot-pot in her hands, a shocked expression on her face. Tsubame nodded.
"I'm–I'm fine. I'm sorry about that. Sometimes the other guests get too rowdy. I'll take care of it."
"No." Kenshin's sharp voice was enough to stop her mid-turn. "Sessha will take care of it."
"And me too." Sano added, cracking his fingers.
"Not this time," Kenshin said, already standing. Sano gave a couldn't-care-less shrug. It wasn't as if Kenshin would really need help with those guys. They were already ten sheets to the wind.
"Excuse me, but did you have some quarrel with us? You almost hit that waitress with this." Kenshin was standing in front of the inebriated men's table, holding the sharpened chopstick in plain view. An ill-dressed man sporting a bandana gave his friend a watch this grin and turned to the red-haired swordsman with a look of horrified surprise on his face.
"Oh, did that go over to your table? I'm sorry, we were playing a game of pick-up-sticks and Yoshi here must have really yanked one to make it go flying like that." The man just about tipped over backwards as Kenshin threw the chopstick at his hand with lightning speed, pinning the man's sleeve to the table.
"Then maybe you'll understand if next time I miss and hit your hand." The bandana-ed man stared at Kenshin, half in anger, half in fear, his expression mirrored in his friends' faces.
"You could have ruined my hand," He said in shock.
"I could have ruined much more than that," Kenshin said coldly. "If you want to make trouble with your improvised weapons, do it someplace else. This is an eating establishment, not a fighting ring." The four men were quickly getting over their initial surprise, and now the bandana-ed man stood, towering over Kenshin by a good foot and a half.
"Who do you think you are, the Emperor Meiji?" He asked with a laugh. "Of course I know this isn't a fighting ring or I would have done more than just aim at that girl. Why don't we take this outside though, and I'll show you just what I can do in a fighting ring."
"I'll decline," Kenshin said with cold politeness. "I don't wish to fight."
The man he was talking to didn't hesitate. "Then what do you carry that sword for?" And he made a grab for Kenshin's shirt, stumbling forward as Kenshin twisted away from him at the last second. The man tugged at his bandana, cursing. "So you can move eh? Come on then boy, let's see what you have. If you don't fight me I may have to take it out on someone else." Kenshin eyed the flushed man. He was willing to accept that he wasn't getting out without a fight but it would be better to at least take it away from the Akabeko.
"Fine," Kenshin said, spinning on his heel and walking to the door. "But come outside." He ordered over his shoulder.
"Cocky little bastard ain'tcha?" The man muttered. He followed Kenshin though, turning to his comrades first. "If I don't take care of him–" He flipped his thumb up and the men nodded, giving each other grins.
"Teku, how come Kenshin gets all the fights?" Sano muttered as he saw Kenshin stepping outside. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Kaiba staring at the men who remained at the table. "Oi. Kid. What's so interesting about them?" Sano asked, waving a hand in front of Kaiba's face.
Something no one had noticed yet about the men had grabbed the boy's attention and he was absorbed in examining it now. "That." Kaiba pointed.
"Huh?" Sano squinted. "What?"
"The shirts they're wearing," Kaiba explained. "It's a design from Choushuu. Where my father's from."
Sano suddenly caught on. "You mean–?" He shook his head. "Those guys are from the Heaven's Judges?" Kaiba nodded and Sano's eyes narrowed. "That chopstick was no accident," He said with certainty. "They meant to get Kenshin's attention." By now almost everyone at the table had left to watch the fight and Sano went to join them, Kaiba trailing in his wake. Hiko and Kaoru were the only ones left.
"Hiko-san, aren't you coming?" Kaoru asked as she stood to go outside. Hiko took another leisurely sip of his sake.
"No. I have complete confidence that my baka deshi's Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu can easily defeat anyone. Especially those unskilled morons." He added distastefully.
"Well I'm glad you're so confident in him but Kenshin doesn't always win by a mile," Kaoru said more snappily than she's intended.
"Of course not, his skill level is nowhere near my own," Hiko said arrogantly. "Still, that doesn't change the fact that Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is the strongest sword style in Japan, and even an idiot like my baka deshi can't lose." Another sip of sake, and Hiko waved her away. "Go on and watch, I'll be waiting right here when he's defeated them." Kaoru gave up with a sigh and trotted outside as fast as her kimono would allow.
ane-ue - older sister
(baka) deshi - (stupid) apprentice
gomen nasai - I'm sorry
gumi - an organizedgroup of people
irasshaimase - welcome (irasshai is slightly more informal)
itee - ouch
iya - no
kitsune -fox
kora - hey!
sessha - literally "this unworthy person"
shishou - master
tadaima - I'm home
teku - jeez
tou-san -dad
yosha - alright then, good, etc.
Meh, I'm just making guesses here about the currency. For all I know 50 sen couldn't have bought an egg. I'm exaggerating here but just to let you know I'm not an expert on pre-Meiji currency.
