So I had it explained to me that tables would not really have been used, and everyone is given their own portions at the beginning of the meal. Unfortunately I've already told everyone that there is a table, so I'm going to keep it, plus it offers great reasons for tension between our lord and Kaoru. You'll see in a bit. I've tried to incorporate the rest of what I learned from a reviewer into the dinner. Thanks again for the education. I always appreciate learning.
Disclaimer: Nope… I don't put up with that crap.
Chapter 4: Dinner Dispute
Taking one deep breath to loosen the tightness in her chest, Kaoru smiled brightly. "I was just on my way to get some water from the well. Would you mind helping me?" Stepping off the porch without waiting for his answer, she crouched down to look for the bucket. It didn't take her long to find it and when she stood back up she saw the lord had not moved.
Long red bangs covered much of his features in shadow now that he was turned away from the setting sun, and she could see at that moment how he used them to hide. They could do nothing about the golden horns on his head, however, and for a second her eyes strayed upwards before she caught herself and forced them back to his own. He was staring at her as if measuring her motives.
"Well?" She held up the bucket in reference. "I need some water to clean off the table before we can eat, so it would be in your best interest to help. The quicker it's done, the sooner we're fed." Keeping the bright smile on her face even as his own tightened and his eyes narrowed, she was almost afraid she had offended him. That wouldn't do, not if she was hoping to talk him into letting her father visit more than just some measly fourteen days.
Abruptly his body angled away, his amber eyes glancing at her one last time before he completely ignored her request and disappeared through the door she had exited. With his back to her she was given a perfect view of his carefully folded red wings, a good enough reason for his bare torso as it would be a little difficult to maneuver a kimono around them. Long, freely wild hair hung all the way down his back, and just as the shoji reverted to shut, a small twitch by his feet attracted her attention to the slender tail dragging the ground, a small tuft of red fur at its tip.
It was actually kind of cute and she had to press her lips together hard to keep herself from smiling, because Kaoru was acutely indignant. He hadn't even acknowledged her! Lord or no, that was just plain rude.
Twisting with an angry grind of her heel she marched her way over to the well and dropped its waiting pail into the inky darkness. The rope tied to its handle unraveled quickly, spiraling into the shadows like her own rational thoughts as her irritation got the best of her. Just who the hell did he think he was? The lord had nearly demanded her presence at his castle but now that she was here she was being treated like she wasn't even good enough to acknowledge.
A heavy splash echoed up the stone well and she waited a few seconds for the rope to tauten as the pail sank below water before pulling it back up. The work helped to calm her temper, and by the time she was able to dump the pail's contents into her own bucket she was once again in control of her thoughts. After ranting and fuming under her breath, explaining in vivid detail every reason why she should just knock him in the jaw and leave, she picked up her now full bucket and walked back towards the kitchens.
None of her violent tactics were going to work here. For one, she still knew next to nothing about the lord. Hell, she didn't even know his name yet. Although he seemed indifferent with her that didn't mean he wouldn't get aggressive. In fact she had proof that he was fully capable of anger. Her father's healing wounds and soft words of explanation warned her against irritating him. After catching her first glimpse of him she had been given more than enough time to examine the sharp claws that had no doubt committed the act. They looked like nothing to be messing with. His entire body looked like nothing she should be messing with.
Sighing, she kicked off the sandals she'd found next to the bucket and climbed back onto the engawa. Just because he can be cruel, though, doesn't mean I have to put up with it. I'll just have to beat him with words instead of muscle. Letting out a long breath as she hefted the bucket once more, she freed a hand to let herself inside. Should be easy enough. I doubt he's had to deal with word bantering in quite some time. I mean, he is up here all alone, and with the way Tae spoke of her master… none of them count because they don't talk back.
There was a second room between the kitchen and the outside that she had to pass through before she could go across the covered walk to the dining area. With the way it looked she could guess it was used for washing and storing the dishes. Halfway across the room, however, she heard raised voices and they automatically forced her to slow. One she recognized as Tae's, the other, from it's masculine tone, she thought must have belonged to the lord.
"I'm sorry, my lord, she offered to do it. She didn't seem to mind at all and I only thought…"
"The first guest we've had in this house in over a decade and you thought to put her to work? If the room is unfit to dine in then you should have had it cleaned earlier today."
"But my lord, you didn't tell anyone she would be staying until she arrived. No one had any time to…"
"That's no excuse."
"What's your excuse?" Not about to let the reprimand go any further, Kaoru stepped in, and as both heads snapped around to look at her standing in the doorway she let the frown on her face darken. Tae seemed taken aback by her audacity, and the other two helpers ducked their heads as they continued with their work. The lord, however, surprised her by looking quickly away. Not in shame, she realized, but avoidance. His reply was almost reluctant.
"I will not tolerate such disrespect from my servants."
"Like Tae-san told you, I offered to clean the room. From what I've just heard you didn't give them sufficient time to do anything in preparation and since I'm not doing anything but waiting to be fed I don't have one problem actually earning it. I'm not offended, so why should you be?"
"It is not your place." Annoyance deepened his voice to a low growl, and Tae backed up slowly in response before turning to ignore the proceedings.
"Well if you had such a damn problem with me carrying in a stupid bucket of water then you could have helped like I asked." Kaoru was getting angry again, and that anger was ignoring the little voice of self-preservation in her head that was trying to talk her down.
"It is not my place, either!" He still hadn't looked at her, but his hands had fisted, clenching those dangerous claws into the soft flesh of his palms.
"Have you even looked at any of your servants recently?" Kaoru gestured at the three monkeys in the room. "How do you expect Tae-san to carry a bucket of water into the house when the bucket is bigger than she is?"
"I have other servants more than capable of performing such a task." He was being difficult and insufferable and Kaoru wanted to tell him a few choice words that were not so nice. Instead she changed tactics.
"How about this? I'm going to take this bucket, walk through that door, clean off the table, air out the room, and then sit down to a nice meal made by three wonderful ladies that I just met today." Speaking slowly and meaningfully, her hands gesturing for reference, she half-smiled as Tae shot her an astonished look at being called a lady. "I don't care what you think or what you do. You can join me if you like, it is your house after all, or you can go somewhere and sulk because you didn't get your way." Marching past him she stopped at the door to inform him of one last thing. "Oh, and by the way, I think you kind of owe it to me to do the former."
Momentarily speechless, he tilted his head, the long bangs covering his face parting as they fell to show off his stern mouth. "How do you figure I owe you anything?" His voice was soft and threatening. She ignored the warning.
"Would you like me to make a list for you?" Holding up a finger, she ticked off each occurrence. "First of all you hurt my father, then you demanded I come live here. When I show up you don't even greet me at the gate, you sic your pet wolf on me, and then leave me alone without any explanation in the hands of your so called servants. Then just recently you ignore my request for help. Me, a lady, a guest, in your home. All of this and you haven't even introduced yourself yet. Really, you're worse than Enishi."
"Who is Enishi?"
The undertone of bite in the question was a little disconcerting, but instead of dwelling on it Kaoru traded the bucket to her other hand and shrugged. "The village jerk. Who cares?" Disliking how easily the atmosphere had shifted, she turned with a huff and walked out onto the veranda to the dining room. "I'll be back for the tray once I'm finished cleaning, Tae-san."
Sitting the bucket down next to the table, Kaoru walked to the other side and slid the shoji open all the way. It brightened the room with failing light and let in a chill breeze, chasing away the gloom and stale odor. Breathing in the crisp evening air she smiled briefly at the charming scenery before returning to her task. Tomorrow she would need to take care of the walls, ceiling and floor, but for now she'd see about beating a couple of the cushions and scrubbing the table. And some candles. It'll be too dark to eat soon without some extra light.
The lord hadn't so much as followed her into the room as hovered by the door, a disapproving scowl on his face as he watched her pick up all the cushions. Rolling her eyes she ignored him, choosing the two cleanest looking pillows and taking them outside to knock the dust off of them. They didn't look much cleaner when she was done, but the underside was decent on both. Leaving them out on the porch to hopefully soak in some of the fresh air, she came back to the table and the bucket of water.
Quickly tying back her sleeves and more than aware of the eyes boring into her back, she knelt by the table, fished out a sturdy, rough textured rag, and set to work on the grime layered on the wood. It was a little stubborn and turned her cloth into a black mess, but after changing and rinsing out four of the washcloths it started to reveal the beautiful dark lacquer hidden underneath.
Dropping her last rag back into the bucket of dirty water, Kaoru wiped off her forehead with the back of her hand and stood to consider her handiwork. Not the greatest, but it'll do for tonight. Pleased with herself, and more than hungry now that she'd worked up an appetite, she retrieved the two cushions outside, placed them next to the table and picked her bucket back up to dispose of the water.
Gliding past the master, across the walk and into the kitchen, she smiled again at Tae when she cast her a questioning look. "Are there any candles or lanterns, Tae-san?"
"O-of course, my lady." Throwing a quick glance at the lord hesitantly, Tae elaborated. "There are some in the other room, you'll see them on the right as you enter."
"Thank you." Looking at the lord herself, she lifted a brow as if daring him to say anything, before sauntering through the kitchen. She was never going to ask him for any help ever again. He was clearly useless. At least he's decided not to complain anymore.
Tossing the water and replacing the empty bucket next to the engawa, Kaoru returned to the wash room and found the candles. There were many pretty looking shades to accompany them and she selected a couple for the room. There were also a few hanging lamps that she eyed for the porch. Since the door was going to be open she may as well light it, too. Maybe the light will attract some fireflies. It was out of season for fireflies, but she liked the thought.
With the candles lit and the sun just now hidden below the horizon, the dining room glowed with soft light, hiding the dust and cobwebs still in the corners and cocooning the table as its focal point. Satisfied, Kaoru washed her hands, untied her sleeves, and patiently waited for Tae to finish preparing the first tray of food.
"The lord is very unhappy." Whispering as she ladled some of the soup into a bowl, Tae shot a look behind Kaoru to the door. "The quieter he gets, the angrier he becomes. Please try not to anger him anymore."
"Well he doesn't have to be such a jerk." Defensive of her actions, Kaoru tried to shrug the warning off, but it was clearly bothering the cook and Kaoru was bothered by that.
"Don't… don't think too badly of the young lord. He was trying to be nice…"
"He was yelling at you!"
"But he was right. You are his guest and we should have remembered our duties. A guest is not expected to clean or prepare their own table. It is rude. I do apologize, it has simply been too long since the lord has entertained. We have all forgotten how to act."
"I'm not really a guest though, am I?" Feeling the first sharp pain of misery at the thought, Kaoru averted her eyes for a second and clenched her jaw to keep it from shaking. "I'm more like a prisoner."
Tae's face had dropped, her eyes denying her claim. "Not a prisoner, my lady. You are here at the will of the master. Invited here to live and be taken care of. You are our new mistress… second only to the master."
"I am only the daughter of a samurai." She was not nobility and she did not like having anyone wait on her. Not when she was fully capable of taking care of herself. This life was not what she was meant for. It would drive her crazy. And what did Tae mean, their new mistress? She wasn't better than anyone.
"Our lord is a samurai. Do not take the title so lightly."
The tray was ready, but Kaoru was still processing what she had just been told. A samurai? But he isn't carrying a katana. Curious now, she hefted the tray and brought it into the dining area, missing the smile that pulled at Tae's lips.
The lord had apparently decided to dine with her, as he was already seated and waiting for the food to be served. Kneeling next to him, she carefully placed each platter Tae had fixed for him, looking him over out of the corner of her eye. He certainly had the muscle structure to be a samurai, and the arrogant attitude. It did not change the fact that he was still disrespectful, though. Standing stiffly with the empty tray she went back for the second load of her own food.
The third tray was a steaming pot of tea, which she served, placed the tray aside, and was finally ready to take her own seat adjacent to him. Settled with her legs tucked underneath her, she squished the cushion with her knees for a comfortable position, then looked up to her host. He was waiting patiently, which surprised her, and seeing that she was now ready to begin he picked up his chopsticks and started the meal.
The food was wonderful and quite different than anything she had ever eaten before. For a few moments she was happy just to quell the ache of hunger in her belly. After that, however, her tunneled vision began to expand and she remembered the lord sitting near her. She was still angry, over the way he treated his servants, the way he didn't greet her at the gate, but Tae's words stuck with her. It seemed some thought needed to be put into her actions. Just being nice to him was not going to be as easy as she had previously believed.
The fox, Megumi, she corrected herself, had apologized, saying their lord had grown shy. That was easy enough to empathize with, considering his appearance. Tae had said he was trying to be nice, and then suggested how long it had been since they'd last had a visitor. She had no clue as to exactly how old the lord really was, but according to her father he hadn't aged in the thirteen years between the first time he had seen him and this last. It seemed she had quite the job ahead of her, trying to discern what part of his personality was original and what part had developed over time. It also seemed she needed to try and be a little more patient in her assumptions.
He is nobility and in his world for a lord or his guest to do anything like cleaning, cooking, or otherwise is disrespectful and demeaning. I guess he was trying to be nice to me, but… I didn't grow up in that environment. And perhaps he was just being shy when we met out on the engawa and he didn't say anything. I guess we did get off on the wrong foot. Looking up, she bit her lip and mentally rolled her eyes at herself. You're so hot-headed. No wonder father beats you when we spar ten times out of ten. You can't ever analyze the situation correctly without jumping to conclusions first.
Taking a sip of her tea, she braced herself to try and start over. "So… I guess I should really thank you." His head didn't move, but his eyes flitted up to search her face for a second, an amber glow beneath red bangs. "Misao said you caught me when I fainted. I'd probably have a nasty headache if you hadn't." Frowning she leaned her elbow on the table and dropped her head, speaking half to herself. "I've never fainted before. It's a little embarrassing that I did." Looking up with a weak smile, she shrugged. "Still… thanks."
A long pause followed, and then his eyes returned to his meal. "You're welcome." Kaoru watched for a second as he fumbled with the fish.
"Actually, I suppose you saved me twice. Father said you were nice enough to bring me back home after I wandered off into the forest as a child. If you hadn't, who knows what would have happened to me. I hope I wasn't too much trouble."
"It was no trouble."
"I must have walked quite a ways just to be close enough to the palace for you to stumble upon me. It's a wonder I didn't get attacked by some wild animals just coming up the mountain." He wasn't talking as much as she had hoped, but she continued to try and spark some kind of conversation.
"That would have been impossible."
"You sound pretty sure about that." Skeptical to provoke a response, she lifted a brow.
"No one enters my domain without me knowing. I made sure you were not harmed."
"Thank you." Surprised, she wondered if he did that for every traveler, including her father.
"You were defenseless. I had no other choice." The gruffness in his voice spoke of discomfort with her continued gratitude, his head lowering even further into his chest to block her out with his hair.
"You could have left me." Lightly disagreeing with his declaration, she studied his reaction closely, intrigued by this sudden transformation. Uncomfortable, and wishing to be free of the subject, the lord dropped his chopsticks and reached for his teacup.
"I require more tea."
Shrugging, Kaoru obliged, carefully refilling his teacup with steaming liquid. It gave him the chance to consider her, wondering why everything felt so different when there was much that was the same. "Thank you… Kaoru-dono." She looked at him sharply, questioning her own name on his lips.
"Huh." The odd expression on her face didn't waver as she sat back and replaced the teapot on the table. "My name sounds… different when you say it." With the old accent on his tongue and the manner in which he spoke, it transformed her plain, average name into something more dignified. A name to almost be proud of. She smiled. "I like it. Though… you don't have to be so formal. I'm not a lady."
He half-frowned, feeling the gap between their generations. "It would be offensive and improper to refer to you any other way."
"Okaay… I guess I can live with it." Giving in as it was clearly upsetting him, she shrugged again and used the opportunity to ask for his own name. "So what should I call you?"
He was slow to reply. "My name is Kenshin."
Oh, so he's Kenshin. Should've seen that one coming. "Just Kenshin?"
The frown that hadn't left his face deepened. "It will do."
Dubious, she found she was beginning to feel a little bad for him, even though she really didn't understand why, yet. "If that's what you want… Kenshin-sama." She smiled softly this time, not the forced one of their first meeting, and although he didn't smile back, his frown did disappear.
Their supper returned to silence, or rather the quiet click of chopsticks and muted hooting of an owl outside. It was really peaceful, and Kaoru was able to forget for a time that she was there for any other reason than a purely social visit: the guest Tae had claimed her to be. It made her wonder what her childhood would have been like if her father had allowed her to come to the palace once a year as he had been instructed to. She would have grown to know this Lord Kenshin and all of his servants just like old friends. Perhaps even shared secrets and moments of joy. The sorrow that tinged the thought surprised her, but she knew it was only because she'd never really had a friend.
Looking up once more to study this palace master, this samurai she did not know, she frowned as her eyes slid over him. His poise was perfect; his back straight, his muscles relaxed and yet aware. Only his head bowed too heavily forward, to no doubt allow the long, overgrown bangs to cover his face. There was something off about the picture, though, and it had nothing to do with his appearance. When her eyes finally focused on his hands she felt the last traces of anger, sadness, annoyance, and bitterness dispel, leaving her with the small bud of sympathy from earlier.
It was easy to see the pride in the lord's posture. It had in fact been evident since her first sighting of him. Kaoru really had not held that against him, either, since he was supposed to be nobility of some kind and a samurai to boot. That pride was in serious question now, however, and in the back of her mind Kaoru felt a little shameful for being so hard on him before. Not that anything she had said had one thing to do with his situation now, but she couldn't help but feel bad for saying such things when he was struggling to simply use a pair of chopsticks.
It wasn't so much that he didn't know how to hold them, but that his claws were getting in the way of holding them. If he did get them set right within his hand, his sharp claws would tear at them. They were only wooden, after all. The poor things were about to break in half, and Kaoru could see by the twitching in his jaw and tightness of his shoulders that any such occurrence would be more than just humiliating. Especially in front of someone he considered his guest.
Thinking quickly, she sat her own chopsticks down and moved to stand. Golden eyes jerked to her immediately, and she tried to smile nicely. "May I be excused for a moment, Kenshin-sama? I won't be gone but a second." He seemed uncertain at first, but nodded, his arm relaxing his hold on the chopsticks and she instantly knew he wouldn't even attempt to eat while she was gone. Not because he wasn't hungry, or because he was trying to be polite, but because he was afraid of splintering the thin wood. What a prideful man.
Hurrying back into the kitchen, she shut the door softly and looked around for Tae. The room was empty, but there was some noise drifting to her from the direction of the other room. They were all outside eating their own dinner on the veranda, the rest of her friends having shown up to join in, and they all gave her a curious look when she stepped out among them.
"Is there something wrong, Lady Kaoru?"
"No, not at all. I just need to talk with you, Tae-san."
Everyone else seemed appeased by this, and Tae came into the adjoining room without a fuss. Once there, Kaoru brought her to the far side before asking for what she wanted. A part of her knew the lord would not like everyone knowing. It was probably the reason he hadn't dined in front of them for so long.
"Do you have any other chopsticks besides wooden ones?"
Tae seemed confused, but nodded. "Of course, but we usually reserve them for special occasions."
"I need the strongest pair you have, please."
The cook thought it over briefly before hopping her way over to a corner and opening a small box. Fishing around inside, she held out a pair for Kaoru to take. "These are made of ivory, elephant tusk, my lady. Do you think they will do?"
"Perfect." Taking them quickly, she paused in afterthought. "Um… they're not sentimental or anything, are they?"
"Not that I know of… why?"
"No reason." Happy with the answer, Kaoru waved it off and slid open the inside shoji. "Thanks, Tae-san."
The master was still sitting, waiting and unmoving when she reentered, and she tried to hide her mischievous smile when he looked up in surprise as she stooped over him. Reaching for the poor chopsticks in his hand, she slid them out of his loose grip and replaced them with the pair of ivory ones.
"Forgive me, but I didn't think these wooden ones were very fitting for the palace lord. This nice ivory is better suited for you."
At first he seemed astonishingly pleased, his thumb stroking slowly over the smooth surface, and Kaoru genuinely smiled at the chance to do something nice for him. Maybe it was a way for her to atone for the yelling she'd done at him earlier, but Kaoru liked being nice more than anything. It made her happy when she was able to make someone else happy.
Only a moment later, though, and that pride came back. The ivory Tae had promised would be strong snapped like old rotten twigs in his hand. The ends fell to the floor, but his fist did not loosen to release the middle sections, and he stood to tower over her with fuming features. "I do not need you feeling sorry for me."
"I-I wasn't. I was trying to be nice." Stumbling over the half-lie, Kaoru held her ground, even though she now felt even more guilty than she had before. Of course she had felt sorry for him, or she wouldn't have gone after the ivory chopsticks in the first place. "A normal person usually thanks someone when they're being nice."
After the words came out of her mouth Kaoru knew it was the wrong thing to say. The mounting temper spreading over his face burned into fire and the wings at his back snapped open so abruptly she was unable to keep herself from jumping. "Do I look like a normal person to you?"
It was too late to back out of her words now so Kaoru didn't try to, her feet bracing into a defensive stance as she refused to be cowed. "You look like a child throwing a tantrum."
The attack on his pride finally became too much and with an angry snort he twisted in a whip of hair and wings and stalked out the open shoji.
Clenching her jaw to keep from screaming in frustration, all the anger and bitterness of before returned with a vengeance. Turning sharply, Kaoru kicked the cushion on the floor, sending it flying into the wall where it slapped loudly into the wooden frame. "Argh! What a baby!"
See if she ever felt sorry for him again!
X
A/N: lol They're so cute when they fight. They've got some learning to do, it seems.
I realize the last two chapters haven't been too exciting, but hopefully this one was a little better. The next one will be for Kenshin. Should be fun. As always tell me what you thought, and as a warning, concert season is coming up so this might or might not go a little slow. I usually end up having to work my regular forty hours plus another fifteen or so on concert days, so I'm going to be tired. I need the money though. Doctor bills suck, and so does the medication! Why does our economy have to be so far in the crapper we can't even see the light at the top of the bowl? I'm sick of it. Anyway, enough drama, I've had more than enough bs to last me four lifetimes in just the past two weeks. And this heat! Argh! At least I'm somewhere a little cooler than home! 105 degrees! Who turned up the heater? And that's not even counting humidity and heat index and all that other wonderful stuff. Thank God for AC is all I've got to say.
Enough of this… leave a review and tell me to hurry up!