Disclaimer: Don't run with scissors. This writer is not responsible for what should befall you should you choose to ignore this advise.
"Morning is wonderful. Its only drawback is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day."
― Glen Cook, Sweet Silver Blues
LAST TIME
"And don't think you're off the hook for that 'inexperienced' comment, mister!"
Kenshin spun around to see Kaoru leaning around the door frame with a fierce expression burning on her face.
"Seven a.m., on this patio. You and me. Be there. And bring a practice sword!" She slipped back inside and shut the door with a thud.
Kenshin chuckled. "I suppose I have no choice now, do I?"
THIS TIME
Kaoru awoke the next morning to her phone trying to buzz its way off the night stand. She snatched it up, burrowed herself further into the bunch of pillows, and gave a slurred "Hullo?".
"Kaoru? Hello? It's Megumi. Did I wake you?" The caller pulled the phone from their mouth and shouted. "Sano, you idiot! I told you we should have called right after we landed. Now you've thrown off my check-in schedule!"
There was a loud masculine laugh in response. "I didn't hear you complaining about your schedule at the time, Fox."
"Oh, shut up." There was a loud clatter.
"Are you tryin' ta kill me, woman?!"
"No. Just give you a minor concussion." Another clatter and a thump.
"I think I'll just keep these, then."
Megumi gasped and there was a rustle like the phone had just been dropped on some linens. "Give those back!"
"Nuh uh. I may be new at this whole marriage thing. But I'm pretty sure I know what it means when a woman throws her panties at me."
"Argh! Just . . . hang on." Megumi's voice suddenly came through more clearly. "Kaoru?"
Kaoru was fairly certain that if she were awake she would be scandalized at what she had just heard. But all her sleep addled brain could manage at the time was a disgruntled mumble. "'Mornin 'Gumi." She yawned and stretched.
"Oh. I'm sorry. What time is it there?"
"Uh." Kaoru spun the digital clock around to face her and blinked a few times waiting for the numbers to come into focus. "Six . . . twenty . . . eight?"
"Oh? Well I just wanted to check in. I'm sorry I woke you."
"'Sokay. I needed to gedup anyway." She did need to get up, but what for, again?
"Well how are the cats?"
Kaoru sat up in the bed and shoveled the covers off. Quite a task since she had somehow cocooned herself in like a swaddled infant. "They're fine. Hikari's been keeping to hiding under the throw on the couch." She rubbed her eyes and raked her pillow-mussed hair from her face, still slightly damp from her shower last night. "And Sora just likes to sit on the stairs and watch me mess around on my laptop." She yawned again.
"Oh, good. That sounds like they're feeling you out. Did you remember to feed them their wet cat food last night."
Kaoru rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "It would have been difficult to forget since you set up all those reminders on my phone. When did you get the time to do that, by the way?" The digital clock glowed 6:32 now. Why should that alarm her?
"When you were playing Sano at Mario Kart the other day."
Kaoru let out a giggle-snort. "You mean totally handing Sano's butt to him while playing M.K., right?"
"Hey, I resent that, Missy!" Sano's voice was faint though you could tell he was shouting. "Those bananas were totally out to get me."
"You two are such children." Megumi grumbled. "Kaoru, have you met Kenshin yet? I forgot to mention he was going to be stopping by."
Kenshin? Kaoru's muddled brain swam around in a sleep fog. Oh yeah, Kenshin! Gorgeous redhead with awesome muscles. "Yeah, we've met. He's cool." Kaoru slid out of bed and stumbled over to the corner where Kenshin had left her suitcase the day before. Kaoru started working the zippers with one hand since the other one was occupied holding the phone: not the easiest thing to do while your head is pounding and you just want to fall back onto the comfy, warm nest of sleep.
"That's good. I also wanted to remind you that garbage day is tomorrow and to keep an eye on the weather. The news says there are some storms coming through and the last time-" Kaoru flipped open her suitcase as Megumi prattled on about rain and fuze boxes and whatnot and started rummaging around. After a moment her hand hit an obstacle. Kaoru yanked it out from under her stack of t-shirts. It was her bamboo practice sword.
The fog surrounding her neural synapses cleared with startling haste.
Kaoru leapt up and spun to look at the clock. 6:39.
She spoke at the phone in a rush. "Megumi, I gotta go! The cats are great. And everything's fine. Oh God, I am going to be so late!" She hung up without hearing a reply and dove back into her suitcase.
She emerged a minute later with a bundle of cloth and all but sprinted to the bathroom across the hall. She bounced on her toes in front of the mirror and contorted every which way while she yanked a brush through her tangled hair in an effort to wake up her muscles.
"This is so not the way to start a challenge." She muttered as the pulled her dark locks into a tight, high tail.
Eleven minutes and thirteen seconds later Kaoru emerged washed, brushed and dressed in her sparing clothes: a navy shitabaki* and white uwagi*. She nearly fell over trying to pull her tabi* onto her feet as her big toe refused to go into the correct hole the first two times.
She refilled the cat's water and food and raced down the stairs. The hall clock read 6:54.
Practice sword in hand, Kaoru burst outside onto the patio to find Kenshin already there.
He was also dressed in traditional kendo regalia. He was turned toward the morning sun: his eyes closed against the light, breathing deep and steady. The sun kissed his lightly tanned features and he had a small, barely visible smile on his face. His arms were crossed and tucked into the sleeves of his –
Wait.
Was that a - surely not.
No way.
"Is that a pink uwagi?"
The clock on his mobile phone read 5:00 when he opened his eyes. Sunrise was prodding the living room blinds begging for entrance to the dark house. Kenshin was wide awake instantly. He lifted himself from the lumpy couch where he had been resting and kneaded the muscles on the back of his neck. They were strung tight as a bowstring. His shoulders ached from the tension and this left arm was tingly from diminished blood flow. So everything was normal, then.
He had slept in all his clothes again. That tended to happen more often than not. He moved to the bedroom to grab a fresh shirt: not the master bedroom but the smaller one farther down the hallway. The master bedroom didn't house anything of his anymore. It hadn't for a long time.
He took a quick shower, barely giving the water time to warm up. Wash. Dry. Shave. Dress.
He scrutinized his reflection and half-heartedly thought that maybe it was time to get a haircut as he knotted the mass of blood red into its customary low tail.
He spent about an hour in his office answering client emails and double checking some totals he'd completed last night while intermittently cursing the clock for moving so slowly and himself for rising so early.
When six thirty finally rolled around, Kenshin slipped back upstairs to prepare for his date- er. . . match with Ms. Kaoru. He had to shove a box or two in the back of the closet out of the way to get to his practice sword. He tested the balance in his hands with a quick swing.
It would do.
He preferred to practice with the real thing. But there was no way he was bringing his katana* anywhere near Ms. Kaoru.
He removed his shirt, tossed it into the laundry basket and pulled open a drawer for one of his sleeveless workout shirts. When the stretchy cotton was in his hand, however, he hesitated. Ms. Kaoru's family ran a dojo and this was a match.
He moved back over to the closet and reached to the far left of the rod behind his plastic-encased tux. The uwagi had been red when he had bought it, he was sure, but dozens upon dozens of cycles on the washing machine had bled the depth out of the color leaving it a funky shade of fuchsia. Honestly, Kenshin was just glad the thing was still in one piece.
He slipped on the garment feeling oddly comforted by the worn fabric brushing over his skin for the first time in far too long.
He finished changing and made the short trek to the Sagara patio.
He was early. But that was fine. He took to watching the morning sky, his gaze drifting out and beyond the horizon. He breathed in deep and let his consciousness drift along the golden reams of light. He could hear the birds chirping in bushes that lined the back fence. They seemed to be rejoicing as they sang – an intense complement of artfully orchestrated chirps and tweets accompanied by the percussion rattle of branches and beat of small wings.
He felt more than he heard Ms. Kaoru yank the back door open and all but leap outside. She was breathing a little faster than normal, like she had been hurrying around the house.
An uncontrollable slip of a smile pulled up on Kenshin's lips. She had probably slept in: so carefree.
"Is that a pink uwagi?"
Kenshin turned at the laughter in her voice. Her eyes were bright and twinkling under her lashes. Her smile nearly consumed her face. Her dark, shining hair pulled against its tie and threatened to tumble over her shoulder.
"Huh?" Kenshin furrowed his brows and took a look at his sleeve. "Oh, fuchsia, I think. Maybe magenta."
Kaoru giggled behind her hand. "Fuchsia and magenta are shades of pink, Kenshin."
Kenshin cleared his throat and fingered the hem at his neckline. "It used to be red."
"Maybe, like a decade ago."
Kenshin nodded thoughtfully. "Something like that, yes."
Kaoru shifted her weight to one foot and crossed her arms, her practice sword hanging toward her feet. "And you were what? Like twelve?" Her mirth was ready to bubble over.
Kenshin blinked, his face going blank. "How old do you think I am Ms. Kaoru?"
Kaoru shrugged. "I dunno. Twenty-two? Twenty-three?"
"I've just had my thirtieth birthday last month."
Kaoru just stared at him for a moment. "Nuh uh!" She nearly lost her grip on the bamboo sword. "You cannot be thirty." She shook her head. "I just isn't possible."
Kenshin sighed. "But it's true."
"But that means you're like . . . eight years older than me." Kaoru was staring into space, slack jawed, obviously thinking very hard. For some reason, that made Kenshin uneasy.
"I suppose it does." He mumbled. "Did you want to start our match?"
Kaoru visibly shook herself and slid into a fighting stance, her eyes narrowing, breathing evening out. "You'd better believe it." Her hands gripped the handle of the practice sword firmly. The tip was steady as stone.
Kenshin had to approve of her form. But he couldn't help but notice how thin and dainty her wrists looked as they peeked from the sleeves of her uwagi. He was definitely going to let her set the pace.
Kenshin mirrored her stance and waited.
Kaoru struck, head on. Kenshin blocked with ease. Though the blow had a lot more force behind it than he had expected. The bamboo slats of their weapons came together with a loud crack. Kaoru retreated and swung again coming in diagonally from below. Kenshin dodged and they circled for a moment. Kaoru's footwork was confident and she matched Kenshin step for step. She attacked again, and again. Kenshin blocked both, changing the course of her blows with two quick taps. She was doing well. Her moves were expertly executed, but they were also predictable.
They circled again and Kaoru let out a short frustrated groan. "It's your turn to attack, Kenshin. Come on!"
Kenshin waited a breath, two, and then swung.
Just as he moved, Kaoru's stance shifted. Her knees bent low to the ground, her arms came up and crossed in an "X" over her head. She moved directly underneath Kenshin's descending weapon. Kenshin froze, his eyes widened in fear of injuring her. But Kaoru kept moving. She caught the bamboo blade, cradling it in the crook of the "X" and slid up the sword toward the hilt with alarming speed. She dug the handle of her own practice sword into a pressure point on Kenshin's wrist, weakening his grip. A moment later, he was empty handed, his weapon flung over the railing. Kenshin didn't move as Kaoru lifted the tip of her sword to his throat, signaling her victory.
Their gazes held steady as their breathing returned to normal after the exertion.
Then, Kaoru lifted her practice sword and bopped Kenshin on the head . . . hard.
"Ow!" Kenshin stumbled backwards cradling his bruised noggin. "What was that for, Ms. Kaoru. You won."
"That," The word was spat out into the air between them and sizzled with an acidic tang, "was because you were holding back, Kenshin!" She leveled a twitching finger at him. "You practically let me disarm you." She turned and stomped down the stairs and around to where Kenshin's practice sword lay. She threw it at him, javelin style, marched right back up on the patio and reassumed a fighting stance. "We're going again."
"B-but Ms. Kaoru, I don't think we really-"
"We're going again, and I swear to God, Kenshin, if you hold back this time I will hit you so hard you'll be seeing stars for the next year."
Kenshin narrowed his eyes and looked at Kaoru with and intensity that knocked her anger down a few notches. "I will not fight you at full strength, Ms. Kaoru." His voice was low, even, and was thick with the finality of law.
Kaoru was taken aback, but held her stance. "Why? And if you say it's because I'm a girl, then prepare to have some sense knocked into you and some other things knocked out."
"No." Kenshin lowered his hand from his head where she had hit him. "This has nothing to do with you being a girl, Ms. Kaoru"
"Then why won't-"
"Because I would hurt you."
Kaoru scoffed. "If you could get in a hit, then maybe it mig-"
"It's not a matter of 'If'." Kenshin's grip on the hilt of his practice sword tightened, his knuckles turned white and his hand began to shake. "I would hurt you." He lowered his head, blood red hair shielded his eyes from view. "And I refuse to let you get injured because of me. It won't happen." His voice lowered to barely a whisper. "Not again."
He took a deep, steadying breath. "You're skilled Kaoru. You are. Truly, one of the best. But my training took me places that yours wouldn't dare touch." He sighed. "Kamiya Kasshin: a katsujinken* style. A sword that gives life."
Kaoru's waning anger was rekindled. "What makes you so sure that you're stronger than me, huh?"
Kenshin's head snapped up. He raised his sword. "Fine, you stubborn woman!" He came so quickly, Kaoru scarcely had time to brace much less defend. She felt a sharp, stinging whack to the underside of her practice sword. Her arm flew upward from the force. She heard a whistling noise by her ear and froze. Kenshin's practice sword had stopped dead a half a centimeter from her neck.
Barley a second had passed.
Karou gulped as Kenshin retreated. She had never seen anyone move that fast, not even her father. And, until that moment, he was the strongest swordsman she knew.
CHAPTER END
Sweet mamma acorn! I thought that chapter would never end. And I don't know about you guys, but that was intense for me. XD I guess it was Kenshin's turn to have some mood swings.
I'm really interested in hearing your feedback from this chapter. I usually really gloss over action or fight scenes but I gave this one a good solid try.
Reviews are love! ^_^
Glossery of Japanese Terms
Hakama: Are a type of traditional Japanese clothing. They were originally worn only by men, but today they are worn by both sexes. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles. They make up the lower half of a traditional kendo practice uniform.
Uwagi: The top part of the traditional practice uniform sometimes referred to simply as "gi" in English. They resemble a short kimono with narrower and shorter sleeves for ease of movement when practicing.
Tabi: Are traditional Japanese socks. Ankle-high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes, they are worn by both men and women with zori, geta, and other traditional thonged footwear.
Katsujinken: Is literally the Fist of Life. The practitioners of this belief hold to the idea that killing is not the right path for its followers to take. They believe in saving others rather than killing them. Kamiya Kasshin is founded on this belief while Hiten Mitsurugi is based on Satsujinken which it literally the Fist of Killing.