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Orphan's Paradise

By: Mystic Song

Chapter 2 – Adoptee

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My disclaimer still holds true.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, they mean a lot.

"Kao-chan," Murmured a high-pitched voice; small hands prodding a curled up figure on the floor with a mass of black hair.

"Kao-chan!" A second voice urged. This time their hands were shoving the curled up figure, trying desperately to wake her up.

A long moan. A terrible groan. A hand flung up to swat the voices away. The body flopped over onto its stomach.

The two little girls looked at each other with disbelief. The next moment, they leapt up on 'Kao-chan,' jumping, pinching, and tickling in order to wake her up.

"Ow…" 'Kao-chan' murmured, slowly pushing herself up off the floor and detangling herself from her mass of blankets.

"It's about time!" The older of the two girls huffed, hands on her hips.

"What's the rush?" Kao-chan sighed as she ran fingers through her mass of black hair tangled in knots. "It's still dark outside. It can't be past 3 in the morning!"

The youngest started to jump up and down excitedly. "There's a man here—an important man—talking to Yumi!"

Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Isn't there always?"

Yumi was the caretaker of the orphanage: she managed bills, set up orphans with sponsors, and made money off of an important man named Shishio who worked for some Hitsen-Muga-something company. How? The orphans were forbidden to say. At night, the front door would often creak open and a man with bandages would sneak inside, unlock the door to Yumi's room, and….

"Not this time!" The elder girl exclaimed, her brown eyes widening. "This time, he's actually adopting one of us!"

Kaoru scrunched up her nose. "Who would want to live with a smelly guy like that?"

"He's not adopting one of us for himself! He's adopting one for Kenshin Himura!" The little girls squealed simultaneously.

Kaoru's mouth dropped in shock. "K-Kenshin Himura? The billionaire? The m-movie star? The s-sexiest man a-alive?"

The little girls squealed again.

"Oh my goodness!"

The two girls grabbed Kaoru by the wrists and dragged her down the steps and over to another group of girls huddled outside of Yumi's bedroom door.

The girls surrounding the door were dead silent, each pressing their ears against the cracks in the wall, eager to listen to the conversation within. In between the smacking sounds and the moans the girls could make out a somewhat coherent conversation.

"Why….on Earth….would Kenshin….Kenshin!…why would Kenshin.…want one of….them?" Yumi's silky voice, though muffled, slipped past the door.

"I'm sure you heard….on the news." Shishio ground out. "He's in the same….same predicament as….Aoshi Shinomori!" The girls outside the room stifled their gasps with their hands.

"Aoshi Shinomori?" Yumi groaned. "That sounds so-so familiar…."

"Yeah. He adopted one of your….brats.…two years ago."

The girls could hear a rustle of cloth, the bed squeak, and then quick footsteps pace around the room. "And you want another one? You took one of my girls last time, and now she's gone, and never to come back!" Yumi exclaimed heatedly. "I could have made good money off of her!"

The girls looked around nervously.

"Ah, but this time, we will pay you handsomely." Shishio said decisively.

There was a pause. But not a hesitant pause. Rather, an eager one. The girls knew that Yumi could always be won over with money. "Really? Well.…I suppose you could choose in the morning…."

The bed creaked and the giggling and grunting continued.

Outside the door, the orphans shuffled about anxiously. Someone would get to live with Kenshin Himura! But what happened to the last girl that left to live with Aoshi Shinomori? The girls tiptoed back to their rooms and whispered to each other in their beds.

Kaoru, who was one of the oldest orphans there, quieted the girls and calmed some of their fears. But in reality she was just as uneasy as all of the other girls. 'But what is there to do?' She thought. 'Regardless of what happens, they will choose one of us in the morning. But it better not be any of the younger ones.…they do not need to be subjected to the world of Kenshin Himura.'

Kaoru woke up early the next morning. She stumbled down the steps from her bunk to the front door. Checking the peep hole to see that no one was outside to see her in her sleeping gown, she cracked the door open and quickly retrieved the newspaper.

She turned around; about to head to her bunk so that she may read the news in peace, when she heard unfamiliar voices in Yumi's office.

"Alright, we finished the paper work. We need to leave as soon as possible." Came the unfamiliar voice of a man that sounded, surprisingly, calm and laid back.

"The press got wind last night of our plan, but they do not know which orphanage….yet. We would like to cause as less commotion as possible." Came the other unfamiliar voice of a woman, her tone just as calm as her companion's.

Kaoru chanced a glance into the office window. Through the warped glass she could make out the tall silhouette of the man, his gravity-defying hair reminded her of a….a rooster. The woman seated next to him was tall and slender and by her posture, seemed classic and elegant. There was no doubt they must be working for Kenshin Himura.

"Well, with the paper work done, you are ready to take your adoptee." Yumi said. "Just one thing. When will you tell the press that you got the girl from my orphanage?"

"In two days." The man replied without pause.

The silence that followed indicated how unsatisfied Yumi was with his response.

"Very well." Yumi said curtly. "Go take the brat and leave."

Kaoru ducked down quickly and froze. They already chose the child? Who was it?

She rushed up two flights of stairs to the first set of bunks just as the office door opened. Kaoru scanned the room from the doorway, seeing no child missing from their bed. With a relieved sigh, Kaoru acknowledged that the youngest children were safe.

Kaoru dashed up the next flight of stairs to the children ages 7-12. She peered through the door and found one bed missing. It was Ayame's, the little girl who had woken her up the night before.

'No, no, no, no, no.' Kaoru thought rapidly. 'Not Ayame.…please don't be Ayame.' Panic started rising as she swerved around when she suddenly bumped into something small.

"Kao-chan!" The little girl squeaked. "What are you doing here? I've been looking all over for you!"

"Ayame!" Kaoru cried happily, reaching down to give the younger one a hug.

"Kao-chan…." Ayame said, confused. Kaoru didn't reply, but just continued her bear hug. "Kao-chan, Yumi-san wanted to see you."

Kaoru's grip immediately slackened. "What for?"

Ayame shrugged. "There's a tall man and a pretty woman downstairs that want to see you."

"Oh.…kay." Kaoru said. She lingered in the doorway, looking back into the room where her friends slept. Why did Yumi want to see her? No.…they couldn't….but…were they adopting her? Little faces peeped up between the sheets of the bed as Kaoru slowly turned away and solemnly walked away from the bunks, down the stairs, and into Yumi's office.

It was just 10:30 in the morning. Kenshin had been up since 6, practicing out in his private dojo, then meditating out in the garden where Tomoe was killed three nights before. His house had been in complete chaos since that night. Kenshin's public image had plummeted: the news informing everyone that Kenshin's girlfriend was engaged to another man—what scandal! And the tabloids revealed the tragic love story of Tomoe and her beloved Akira, where Kenshin was the only one at fault.

A similar event had happened on Kenshin's premises just two years before. Himura is not the only one who lives in this house. His best friend Aoshi Shinomori lives there too. He's a quiet, thoughtful man. His countenance is like stone, his mind nothing short of brilliant. He led a group called the Oniwaban-shu. They were an elite group of ninjas who protected the house. However, one night two years before, a man confronted the group with a grappling gun, killing all but one. Aoshi.

Aoshi killed that man with such brutality he would have been considered a barbarian, if the press knew about it. Only the people living in Kenshin's house at the time knew about that event, and one other.

The deaths of most of the Oniwaban-shu could not have gone overlooked. The public found out and thought Aoshi cold-hearted. How could he witness the deaths of his closest friends and not show remorse or pity or compassion? His public image plunged as well. In an attempt to save his image so that he was not forever shunned from society, he collaborated with Shishio to adopt an orphan, one who he could teach the art of the ninja and show compassion to. Shishio went out and adopted a vibrant and energetic girl, to much of Aoshi's surprise since he expected a boy as quiet and restrained as himself. She still lived in Kenshin's mansion: Aoshi was originally going to keep her for six months, but now he won't let her go. Kenshin believed that she unlocked his stone countenance and had crept into his heart and soul, something that took years for Kenshin to do.

But now, Aoshi is well thought of in society. He is invited to many fights, and is invited to compete and teach. Kenshin must adopt an orphan now, too, and hope that his charity will prove his innocence in the matter of Tomoe.

Inside the house, servants were bustling about, cleaning and straightening, and preparing the new orphan's arrival.

☼A/N: There won't be much of a wait before the next chapter comes out : )

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